The owners of a South Texas bakery were sentenced to four months in prison on Wednesday for harboring and conspiring to employ undocumented workers who were kept in cramped, unsafe living conditions.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ordered Leonardo Baez-Lara, 56, and Alicia Avila-Guel, 46, proprietors of Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos, to serve two years of supervised release and pay a $21,300 fine each.
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Texas bakery owners sentenced
The sentencing followed a three-day trial in August 2025, during which a jury convicted the couple of sheltering at least six people. Prosecutors said the workers were housed in a small, converted insurance office near the bakery that doubled as a storage area.
The living quarters were reported as having a single exit, no fire extinguishers, and exposed wiring. Workers slept on floor mats and attested to going months without hot water. One head baker reportedly lived in the storage area for more than two years.
“Today’s sentences serve as a warning to any business owner who believes they can distort fair competition by utilizing a workforce of illegal aliens,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “It’s not worth running afoul of the law just to make a quick buck.”
Baez-Lara and Avila-Guel, who are legal permanent residents, have been running Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café since 2012. Because of the felony convictions, both stand at risk of losing their legal right to remain in the United States.
During the trial, testimony emerged that the proprietors paid their staff in cash and did not keep required documents. One employee stated that he was hired immediately after illegally entering the country, while another said that Baez-Lara helped orchestrate his return to the bakery after being deported during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Defense attorneys contended that the couple was only giving shelter and that their acts did not constitute harboring, but the jury rejected that argument after three hours of deliberation.
“The couple’s deliberate disregard for the law and the safety of their workers cannot go unpunished,” said John A. Pasciucco, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Antonio.
