BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced a 74-count indictment against HotHead Grabba LLC, its owner Hunter Segree, 28, and two top managers for operating a tobacco-processing sweatshop that allegedly exploited immigrant workers.
The charges accuse Segree, along with associates Isayed Rojas of Staten Island and Joshua Howard of Queens, of grand larceny, falsifying business records, state labor law violations, and reckless endangerment tied to unsafe working conditions. The trio and their company allegedly withheld $310,000 in wages owed to 25 mostly immigrant workers — many middle-aged mothers from Ecuador — between October 2022 and July 2024.
Workers endured long shifts stripping 15 pounds of tobacco by hand in cramped, hazardous environments, often working 12 or more hours a day, six to seven days a week. Employees reported health problems such as dizziness, fainting, fatigue, and nausea, and faced threats from supervisors about being reported to immigration authorities when raising concerns about unpaid wages.
The investigation, led by the Brooklyn DA’s fraud bureau with support from the New York State Department of Labor, Workers Compensation Board, and Inspector General, revealed that HotHead Grabba generated millions of dollars in revenue.
Segree and the managers were arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny K. Chun, pleaded not guilty, surrendered their passports, and were released without bail. They face a return court date on August 13.
The sweatshop conditions first came to light in a February 2024 exposé by THE CITY, followed by complaints filed with labor authorities. In September, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed fines totaling over $91,000 for ongoing safety violations. Additionally, a temporary stop work order was issued in March for failing to carry workers compensation insurance, after which operations moved to a new location in Queens.
District Attorney Gonzalez emphasized the seriousness of the charges, stating that such exploitation “will not be tolerated in Brooklyn” and pledging to hold unscrupulous employers accountable while seeking restitution for workers.
