A 44-year-old Maury Island resident faces 10 federal felony charges related to human trafficking in the form of forced labor. Jesus Ruiz-Hernandez was originally indicted in November 2022 for transporting, harboring and bringing in an undocumented worker for financial gain. The superseding indictment, which was returned this week, had seven additional charges. Maury Island is connected to Vashon Island by a narrow sand spit. “Undocumented people are particularly vulnerable to forced labor schemes because they believe they do not have the same basic rights as U.S. citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “In this case, the grand jury found that Mr. Ruiz-Hernandez sought to enrich himself by forcing undocumented workers to labor for him and that he benefitted financially by bringing undocumented workers to western Washington.” Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/vashon-island-resident-human-trafficking-charges/281-90a13058-6755-416d-a7b4-5643927f43f6