Two Bay Area men were arrested Feb. 5 on 15 counts of wage theft each for allegedly withholding more than $200,000 from 30 employees at a Pescadero cannabis farm, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Rohnert Park resident Aaron Esquercorrales, 41, and Daly City resident Roberto Perez-Flores, 41, ran Miles Ahead Ventures, a company leasing a Pescadero farm that cultivated cannabis, according to the DA’s Office.
From May 1, 2024, to Jan. 24, the men allegedly failed to pay employees — and owe them between $350 to $28,600, individually — and put them in unsanitary living conditions, like tents inside rat-infested greenhouses, according to the DA’s Office.
Esquercorrales and Perez-Flores are also both charged with labor code violations for a lack of workers’ compensation insurance policy, Wagstaffe said.
The arrest of Perez-Flores occurred in San Mateo County, where the scale of operations prompted consideration that community members might be worried it was Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Wagstaffe said. It was not.
“We made the decision it’s time to go and get these guys,” Wagstaffe said. “It was an awfully deplorable circumstance.”
Perez-Flores pleaded not guilty to all charges and his case will be heard at preliminary hearing April 30.
Esquercorrales was arrested in Marin County, and the San Mateo County DA’s Office will go and retrieve him, Wagstaffe said. The hope is that the two men will be tried together, he added.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Celebrate the season with us at CY Danceworks’ Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 7th! Read moreChristmas Open House-Free Dance Classes, Holiday Crafts, Food, Pics with Santa & More!!!
Dirk van Ulden said:
Connie Weiss said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.