A Metro Detroit couple is accused of running a multimillion-dollar plumbing company that employed more than 100 workers who were illegally living in the U.S., federal officials announced.
Moises Orduna-Rios, 36, and Raquel Orduna-Rios, 30, of Plymouth, Michigan, were arrested and charged with "conspiracy, transporting and harboring unauthorized aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain, conspiracy to bring in, harbor, and transport unauthorized aliens, employment of at least 10 unauthorized aliens within a 12-month period, engaging in a pattern or practice of employing unauthorized aliens, and money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering."
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In a criminal complaint, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agent Justen J. Silva shared more details about the investigation.
The couple allegedly runs a business called Orduna Plumbing Inc. It's based in Michigan, but also operates in New York, North Carolina and Ohio. Moises is the president of the company, and Raquel is the treasurer and secretary.
Authorities discovered that the company employed 253 people, and only six of them were allegedly legally living and permitted to work in the U.S., officials said.
The couple allegedly collected the workers' passports and "housed them in overcrowded houses and hotel rooms," according to the complaint.
From January 2022 to August 2025, the company generated about $74 million in revenue.
Border Patrol agents arrested 23 Orduna Plumbing workers who were illegally in the U.S. in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, and Charlotte, North Carolina, throughout their investigation into this company.
Undercover agent learns about plumbing operation from worker in Rochester, New York
On Dec. 16, 2024, border patrol agents in Rochester, New York, conducted a traffic stop on a van registered to Orduna Plumbing and arrested three people who were illegally present in the U.S.
During the stop, one of the workers called someone on his phone before exiting the van. This worker had also told the other two people not to answer any of the agents' questions.
Four days later, on Dec. 20, 2024, an employee of a towing company in Rochester told border patrol agents that the secretary of the plumbing company contacted them and asked to have someone else (identified as Witness 1 in the complaint) take possession of the towed van.
A border patrol agent dressed in plain clothes encountered the worker at the tow yard on Dec. 27, 2024. (The witness was not aware that he was talking to a border patrol agent during this conversation.)
The worker told the agent that 10 Orduna Plumbing workers were staying in Rochester, but the company had around 200 employees across the country, officials said.
He showed the agent about $10,000 in cash and told the agent that he was in charge of paying the workers who were in the Rochester area.
The worker said if the agent was interested in working for the plumbing company, they would provide housing, a vehicle, tools, along with a small crew.
At that point in the conversation, the undercover agent told the worker he was illegally in the U.S. and the worker told him that "his immigration status was not an issue" and that Moises "would still hire him as an employee," according to the complaint.
The witness then paid for and retrieved the van, and border patrol agents followed him home, and where they found other vehicles registered to the plumbing company.
Worker discusses moving from Buffalo to Rochester
After that, authorities obtained a warrant to search the cellphone of one of the workers who had made a phone call before exiting the van and being arrested on Dec. 16.
They learned that during the traffic stop, this worker called Moises.
WhatsApp records show that this worker and Moises began communicating on about Oct. 13, 2022, and their conversations, which consisted mostly of voice messages, involved work-related questions.
Their message history began two months before the worker allegedly said he illegally arrived in the U.S., according to the complaint.
On Oct. 29, 2024, this worker and Moises exchanged messages that were likely in reference to Orduna employees being arrested at a Walmart in New York the day prior, according to the complaint.
They were discussing changing houses, and the worker, who appeared to be speaking for himself and his coworkers, told Moises that "it was dangerous especially in the Buffalo area because they are 'undocumented,'" according to the complaint.
Moises responded and suggested moving the workers to Rochester. The company's owner allegedly told the worker that while there is a border in Rochester, "it is in the lake, and he surmised that it shouldn't be as much of a problem as Buffalo," officials said.
In response, the worker told his boss that "things would be difficult for him if he were deported," according to the complaint.
Moises told the worker that he and the coworkers needed to finish the work in Buffalo before they moved, and the worker requested extra compensation due to the danger that it posed.
Authorities also discovered a message from Nov. 6, 2024, that included a screenshot of an Expedia booking for a hotel in Rochester, along with Moises apologizing for not having room in the "company house" for the workers. He allegedly claimed that there were too many workers living in the house, and the homeowners were already upset that more than three people were living there.
Agents search Rochester home, find 9 workers in overcrowded conditions
On Feb. 5, 2025, border patrol agents executed a search warrant at the Rochester home where Orduna Plumbing workers were living, according to the complaint.
They discovered that nine men were living in the approximately 1,500-square-foot house that had four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Officials said there wasn't a lot of furniture in the house, besides mattresses on the floor of each bedroom.
The agents seized cellphones, mail that was sent to "Orduna Plumbing Inc," company credit cards, and work badges.
All nine workers admitted to being in the U.S. illegally, according to the complaint. They were arrested, but one of the men was released when record checks revealed he was in immigration proceedings.
One worker told agents that he'd been working for the plumbing company since 2018, and made about $1,500 each week. This was put directly into his account by Moises, according to the complaint.
Other workers reported making $800 and $1,000 per week.
They also told agents that an uncle of Moises would distribute their paychecks to them.
Company requests workers' passports
Authorities obtained a search warrant to search the uncle's phone and discovered a WhatsApp exchange from Jan. 17, 2025, where Raquel had allegedly asked him if the workers at the Rochester House had Tax IDs or Social Security numbers.
When he told her they only had passports, she told them she needed them all within 30 days to process Tax IDs.
If she didn't get these, she told the uncle that she couldn't pay the workers.
According to the complaint, immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally "can obtain tax identification numbers (TIN) to fulfill their income tax obligations."
On Jan. 24, Raquel texted the uncle and said that his paycheck that was being sent would be larger than usual because a construction company that was subcontracting work with Orduna Plumbing had given him a bonus, officials said.
Then, on Jan. 31, Raquel asked about the passports again, and the uncle asked if he could send more than she had initially requested.
She agreed and asked him to send the 14 passports in a box.
WhatsApp messages about living areas, use of work vans
Authorities also discovered a WhatsApp group chat that was meant for conversations about company work.
On May 31, 2024, Moises allegedly sent a message reminding the workers to be responsible with their work vans.
He told them to "clean them often" and to take them to be repaired if they needed it.
Moises also told them to "change the oil every 3,000 miles," "not exceed the speed limit," and "not drink and drive," according to the complaint.
The company owner also told workers not to abuse the gas compensation on weekends, and suggested not using the company credit cards for gas if they were using the cars on their own time, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 16, 2024, Moises sent another message to the group chat, saying receipts for purchases made with the company card must be sent without him asking.
He then listed items that could and couldn't be purchased with the car.
"The only people who are going to buy personal tools is when they arrive from Mexico!!!!!! A person who does not respect the rules will have their card canceled and unauthorized expenses deducted from their check," Moises said in the chat. "It's nothing personal with anyone, just imagine someone else using your money on things that aren't coming to you. BE CONSCIOUS!!!!"
About 25 minutes later, he sent another message in the chat, reminding workers to keep houses and hotels clean and that they were responsible for some bills.
"Do not leave the van with mud on your shoes, do not leave trash behind when you leave the room, THEY CHARGE ME FOR THAT, do not set off any alarm THEY CHARGE ME IF THEY NOTICE," Moises said.
Message referring to increased immigration enforcement
On Feb. 1, 2025, he sent a message in the group chat that agents believe was in reference to an increase in immigration enforcement activities.
"Gentleman, with all of the controversy that is going on, it's better to get ready, drive the speed limit, limit yourselves going to the store, only do minimal running errands, and do not have any gatherings such as barbeques. Don't worry about the jobs, I was researching and they can't enter the projects unless they have an order and have notified the construction company. At any time that someone tells me that they are going to arrive I will let them know," Moises said in the message.
He later sent the group information about their rights, which appeared to be from an immigration website, according to the complaint.
Tax forms, immigration records
On July 24, 2025, authorities obtained IRS records, which showed that from 2022-2024, the plumbing company issued 473 Forms 1099-NEC to 253 employees.
According to the complaint, immigration records showed that 112 workers were illegally in the U.S. due to some type of encounter with immigration officials, and 28 workers had overstayed their visas, or were lawfully residing in the U.S., but had "visas that didn't authorize them to work," officials said.
Of the 253 workers, six were legally living and able to work in the U.S.
Officials said they searched immigration records to determine if the remaining 107 workers were legally living and working in the U.S., but couldn't find any records of them in the databases.
The border patrol agent said that due to his experience, these remaining employees are likely illegally in the U.S. and that there's no immigration records for them because they haven't had any encounters with immigration authorities, according to the complaint.
"However, it is also possible that some of these workers are United States citizens who were born in the United States, never applied for a passport, and never traveled outside of the United States," the agent said.
In addition, authorities said the couple had multiple bank accounts that they used to pay the workers. One account, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank was opened on Jan. 28, 2018, and from January 2022 to July 31, 2025, the account received check and ACH deposits that totaled more than $74 million. These aligned with the timing of customer payments, according to the complaint.
Future court dates
Moises and Raquel appeared in federal court in Detroit on Tuesday, Nov. 18. They posted bond and were released.
They are scheduled to appear in court again in the Western District of New York on Dec. 2, 2025.