The owner of a central Minnesota dairy farm is facing racketeering and wage theft charges accusing him of criminally mistreating hundreds of workers who are mostly undocumented migrants.

Keith Lawrence Schaefer, 57, of Richmond, owner of Evergreen Acres Dairy LLC, was charged in Stearns County District Court, according to a Tuesday news release from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.

An undated photo of the conditions of the housing that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Evergreen Acres Dairy provided for employees in Stearns County. (Courtesy of the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General)

Schaefer is accused of depriving Evergreen Dairy workers of their earned wages and subjecting them to abuse and threats of physical violence and death, according to the news release.

The felony racketeering charge calls for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, or both, according to the criminal complaint. The four counts of wage theft over $5,000 are felonies. The maximum sentence, if convicted, is 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.

The Attorney General’s Office charged Schaefer upon a referral from Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall, according to the news release.

In October, Evergreen Dairy Farm agreed to a settlement with the state of Minnesota over charges of wage theft and substandard housing. The Paynesville farm agreed to pay $250,000 in back wages to workers, as well as bring employee housing up to standard, Ellison’s office said at the time.

Ellison’s office filed suit against the farm in January 2024 after dozens of complaints from workers regarding wage theft and abysmal worker housing. The suit alleged that Evergreen failed to pay at least $3 million of vulnerable workers’ earned wages, illegally charged rent for squalid housing, and maintained a culture of fear and violence.

As part of that settlement, the Attorney General’s Office will monitor Evergreen for three years, and attorney general staff will be allowed to inspect employee housing and obtain various wage-and-hour records. A violation of any of the terms of the settlement would subject Evergreen to a civil penalty of an additional $250,000.

Schaefer’s next hearing in Stearns County District Court is scheduled for March 17, according to court records.

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