Nine undocumented immigrants lived in this house while working for a Plymouth, Michigan couple who hired more than 200 undocumented immigrants to build a $74 million plumbing empire, the government says. The couple were criminally charged on Nov. 18, 2025, in federal court.
This is inside a three-bedroom house, where nine undocumented immigrants lived while working for a Michigan plumbing company that the government says made $74 million by hiring more than 200 illegal workers.

A wealthy Plymouth, Michigan couple has landed in federal court, accused of hiring more than 200 undocumented immigrants to work at their national plumbing business over the years, and housing many of them in run-down motels and houses — all while they raked in $74 million in revenue, according to a new court filing in New York.

That's where Moises and Raquel Orduna-Rios are facing federal charges, including money laundering, following a five-year investigation that started with federal agents spotting one of the couple's company vans outside a motel in Amherst, New York. The agents also encountered — and arrested — a small group of undocumented immigrants, who explained the van belonged to their "boss," court records show.

That boss was 36-year-old Moises Orduna-Rios, president of Michigan-based Orduna Plumbing Inc., which also has operations in New York, North Carolina and Ohio. He was arrested on Tuesday, Nov. 18, after years of being monitored by federal agents who kept close tabs on his company vans, financial transactions, communications and his illegal workers who made $800-$1,500 per week, and in some cases had their living expenses covered.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday, Nov. 18, the investigation uncovered messages between Orduna-Rios and some of his illegal workers, during which they discussed payroll, proper care of company vehicles and company credit cards, and concerns about them being undocumented and getting caught.

There was also talk about the workers switching housing locations to be less visible to law enforcement, the complaint states, and precautions that should be taken to avoid getting arrested.

"Gentlemen, with all the controversy that is going on, its better to get ready, drive the speed limit, limit yourselves going to the store, only do minimal running of errands, and do not have any gatherings such as barbeques…" Orduna-Rios wrote in one group chat message on Feb. 1.

Less than nine months after sending that message, Orduna-Rios and his wife would find themselves in a federal courtroom in Detroit, charged with conspiracy, transporting and harboring undocumented immigrants for commercial advantage or private financial gain, and money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $3,000 for each undocumented immigrant they employed.

The couple were released on bond. Their next court appearance will take place on Dec. 2 in federal court in New York, where the criminal case was filed and will be prosecuted.

No attorneys of record are yet listed in federal court documents for the defendants. Efforts to reach them as of late Monday, Nov. 18 were unsuccessful.

Border Patrol followed Orduna Plumbing vans for years

According to the government, the couple employed about 253 workers between 2022 and 2024. Of those employees, only six were permitted to work in the United States, prosecutors said, alleging the defendants collected their workers' passports and housed them in overcrowded houses and hotel rooms. Of the 247 undocumented workers at Orduna Plumbing, 23 employees ended up getting arrested during the federal investigation, court records show.

The criminal complaint in this case offers a glimpse into how the federal government aggressively pursued undocumented immigrants who allegedly helped make the Michigan couple rich, in exchange for work, housing and sometimes air travel to a job location.

According to the complaint, Border Patrol Agents spent months and years following Orduna Plumbing vans bearing Michigan license plates, and arresting undocumented immigrants at all kinds of locations: a Walmart parking lot, a motel parking lot, a traffic stop. Undercover agents also tricked some of the workers to get more information.

For example, on Dec. 27, 2024, Border Patrol agents went to a tow yard in Rochester, New York, where one agent in plainclothes struck up a conversation with an employee of Orduna Plumbing who had gone to retrieve his van. Not knowing he was talking to a federal agent, the plumbing employee flashed about $10,000 in cash while talking to the agent, telling him that he was responsible for paying Orduna Plumbing employees in the Rochester area. He also told the agent that if he were interested in working for the company, he would provide him with housing, a vehicle, tools and a small crew.

The agent told the man that he was in the United States illegally. The man reportedly told him that wasn't an issue, that he would still hire him.

The agent played along, without answering. After the conversation, the man got his work van from the tow yard and drove back to the home where his co-workers were. Unbeknownst to him, federal agents had followed and spotted five more Orduna Plumbing work vans outside the small yellow house, where nine men were living inside, despite there being only three bedrooms.

The investigation would continue, with federal agents using wiretaps to listen to conversations between various plumbing employees and Orduna-Rios, who they already knew was boss of the company.

'Housing and Hotels'

According to the criminal complaint, federal agents retrieved messages that Orduna-Rios sent to his employees titled "Housing and Hotels," telling them they were all responsible for keeping the houses clean, not to mark the walls or dirty the homes, and that they were responsible for the bills in some of the homes. He also sent "HOTELS" rules, stating:

He began by stating: "[d]o 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."

On Feb. 1, 2025, came the message warning of ICE raids: "Gentlemen, with all 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 of errands, and do not have any gatherings such as barbeques."

The message continued: "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 ... Analysts think this won't last long, but for greater security, everyone be really careful."

After citing this message in his affidavit, a federal agent noted that immigration enforcement activities had increased around this time, and that Orduna-Rios was warning his workers to be careful. But he was also advising them that they had rights, the agent wrote, citing what he said appeared to be a copy-and-pasted message from an immigration website. It stated: "Undocumented Immigrants in the United States have certain IMMIGRATION LAW Rights, including the right to due process, the right to a lawyer and the right to remain silent. These rights apply to everyone, regardless of their immigration status."

Nine months after sending that message, as the feds continue to scrutinize his company records, deposits and communications, Orduna-Rios and his wife, who is the company treasurer, were arrested.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan couple made $74M using undocumented immigrant workers, feds say

Reporting by Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press

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