Federal agents say a Metro Detroit plumbing company wasn’t just fixing pipes.
According to reporting from Lauren Edwards at FOX 2 Detroit, federal prosecutors allege that Moises Orduna-Rios, 36, and his wife, Raquel Orduna-Rios, 30, built a $74 million plumbing empire by secretly relying on hundreds of undocumented workers scattered across multiple states.
The couple, who live in Plymouth, Michigan, are now facing a long list of serious federal charges.
Federal Complaint Alleges A $74 Million Illegal Labor Scheme
Lauren Edwards reports that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York investigated the Orduna-Rioses between January 2022 and August 2025.
During that period, prosecutors say their company, Orduna Plumbing, employed 253 workers, and that the vast majority were not authorized to work in the United States.
Edwards says the Justice Department accuses the couple of conspiracy, transporting and harboring unauthorized aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain, and money laundering, among other charges.
In her report, Edwards notes that FOX 2 knocked on the couple’s door at their Plymouth home.
Someone spoke through the door and said they were not interested in talking to the media.
How Investigators Say The Case First Broke Open
Ron Plants of WGRZ in Buffalo dug into the criminal complaint and traced the case back several years.
He reports that the investigation intensified in January 2020 at an Extended Stay America hotel in Amherst, New York.
Border Patrol agents, doing surveillance, noticed a van registered to Orduna Plumbing and Moises Orduna-Rios.
Plants says agents approached a man near the van who admitted he was not legally in the U.S. and said the van belonged to his boss.
According to the complaint, agents then found two more co-workers in the man’s hotel room.
Those workers also admitted they were in the country illegally, and all three were arrested.
From there, Plants reports, the investigation grew into a multi-state case covering New York, Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina, with charges of harboring, transporting, and employing undocumented workers for profit — plus money laundering.
Packed Housing, Confiscated Documents, And “Brutal” Conditions
Both Plants and Darren Cunningham of WXYZ Detroit highlight what prosecutors say working and living conditions looked like for these workers.
Cunningham reports that the complaint accuses the Orduna-Rioses of hiring undocumented workers, taking their passports, and cramming them into “tight living quarters.”
Photos included in the complaint show sparse, overcrowded housing — something Plants says agents found in a Rochester home where nine undocumented workers were allegedly living in a barely furnished residence.
Local labor leader Paul Brown, president of the Buffalo Building Trades Council, told Plants that none of this surprises him.
Brown says schemes like this “happen all the time,” describing situations where companies pack “20 of them in a hotel room,” don’t pay taxes, and then “distribute” whatever they want to the workers.
He calls it “pretty brutal.”
From a broader perspective, that matches a pattern seen in other labor-exploitation cases: low-wage, hard work; unstable housing; immigration status used as leverage to keep people silent.
When you hear Brown describe how easy it is for shady operators to just change company names once the IRS or investigators get close, it really underscores why these cases are so hard to stamp out.
Hundreds Of Workers, Only A Handful Legal
The numbers in this case are staggering.
Edwards reports that, according to the DOJ, Orduna Plumbing made roughly $74 million while employing 253 people.
She notes that federal investigators say only a tiny fraction of those workers were legally authorized to work in the United States.
Attorney Todd Perkins, a federal trial lawyer who is not involved in the case, told Edwards that the strength of the government’s case will depend heavily on witness testimony and consistency.
He points out that the complaint lists multiple worker witnesses – referred to as “alien number 11, 12,” and so on – suggesting that prosecutors have a long list of individuals prepared to describe what was happening inside the company.
Perkins also notes that investigators checked employment records and found that only about five workers appeared to be legally present or authorized to work.
Cunningham’s report for WXYZ echoes that figure, saying that out of 253 workers, only six were in the U.S. legally and permitted to work.
If those numbers hold up in court, that means more than 240 workers were allegedly undocumented – almost the entire workforce.
Doing the rough math, that’s well over $200,000 in revenue per worker across a few years.
That ratio gives a sense of just how big and lucrative the operation may have been if prosecutors are correct.
Former Prosecutor: Evidence Mix Looks “Extremely Powerful”
To understand the legal side, Cunningham spoke to former federal prosecutor Matthew Schneider, who reviewed the 27-page complaint.
Schneider says this isn’t “just a simple immigration case.”
In his words, it’s also about money laundering – using money obtained unlawfully and then pushing it through the banking system to make it look legit.
He points out that the government claims to have three big categories of evidence: physical evidence, statements from arrested workers, and recorded communications.
According to Cunningham, investigators say the company relied heavily on WhatsApp for internal communication, and those messages are now part of the case.
Schneider explains that when prosecutors have a defendant’s communications on record, plus worker statements and physical proof, “that’s extremely powerful” and very hard for a defense to overcome at trial.
That doesn’t mean the couple is guilty – they’re still innocent until proven otherwise.
But it does show why federal prosecutors seem confident enough to bring such a complex, multi-state case.
Neighbors And Community React To The Allegations
While federal agents talk about millions of dollars and hundreds of workers, people who saw the company from the outside say it didn’t look like anything remarkable.
Cunningham visited the Orduna Plumbing headquarters in Plymouth Township and spoke with neighboring business owner Jeff Gobles, a golf pro whose operation is next door.
Gobles told Cunningham that the plumbing business “just looked like a normal business” and that he didn’t see a lot of work trucks coming and going.
He says he only ever saw about three people in and out of the office.
When Gobles learned about the allegations and the scale of the operation described in the complaint, he called it “pretty crazy” and “kind of frightening” that it could be “that deep” with so little visible activity.
Back in New York, Plants reports that Orduna Plumbing has now taken down its corporate website, which once listed its large-scale construction services and contact information.
For ordinary workers and legitimate contractors, cases like this feel doubly unfair: they undercut wages, dodge taxes, and leave exploited workers holding the bag if things go wrong.
What Happens Next For The Orduna-Rios Case
Edwards reports that the couple was arrested on Tuesday and are facing federal charges in the Western District of New York.
Cunningham notes that they were released on conditions after appearing in federal court in Michigan and are scheduled to appear again on December 2 in federal court in Rochester, New York.
Plants also says that, as of his latest reporting, there is no public information yet on who is representing the couple legally, and no formal statement from them responding to the allegations.
If convicted, Edwards points out that the Orduna-Rioses face serious prison time, given the mix of conspiracy, harboring, transporting, and money-laundering counts.
From a bigger picture standpoint, this case looks like more than a one-off.
Between Brown’s comments about this “happening all the time,” Schneider’s breakdown of the evidence, and the multi-state scope described by Plants and Cunningham, it sounds like federal authorities are trying to send a message to other companies tempted to build profits on the backs of undocumented workers.
And for the workers themselves – the men crammed into hotel rooms, stripped of passports, and paid whatever someone feels like handing them – this case is a reminder of how vulnerable they are when immigration status and economic desperation collide.
Whether this prosecution changes that reality is another question.
But based on the reporting from Lauren Edwards, Ron Plants, and Darren Cunningham, federal agents clearly believe this Michigan plumbing operation crossed a line from cutting corners into building a whole business model on illegal labor – and now they’re trying to make an example out of it.
This article first appeared on Survival World.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
