Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, New York State Workers’ Compensation Board Chair Clarissa M. Rodriguez and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, announced that the owner of Hothead Grabba, LLC, two managers and the company itself have been arraigned on a 74-count indictment in which they are variously charged with grand larceny, conspiracy and related charges for allegedly withholding wages and violating New York State labor laws.
More than two dozen employees who processed tobacco at the Cypress Hills plant were allegedly cheated out of more than $310,000 in wages.
“We allege that these defendants operated a business that profited by systematically underpaying their employees, denying them basic protections, and exposing them to hazardous and degrading conditions. These serious charges send a strong message that this kind of exploitation will not be tolerated in Brooklyn, and we will continue to use every available tool to hold unscrupulous employers accountable and seek restitution for workers. I thank our prosecutors and our enforcement partners for their work on this case,” the DA said.
Commissioner Reardon added, “New York State has zero tolerance for anyone who cheats their workers out of hard-earned pay or forces them to work in dangerous and illegal conditions. I am proud of the New York State Department of Labor’s continued partnership with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Armed with expanded enforcement powers provided by Gov. Hochul’s 2026 budget, we will continue to fight worker exploitation in all its forms and put money back in the pockets of workers.”
“The Board applauds the work of its task force members and all of the agencies that played a role in this investigation. Holding bad actors accountable underscores New York’s dedication to keeping workers safe and promoting compliance with the law,” stated Rodriguez.
“The exploitation of vulnerable workers through wage theft and unsafe labor conditions is both unconscionable and illegal. Every worker in New York deserves fair pay and a safe workplace, and, in collaboration with our partners across federal, state and local agencies, my office will continue working to ensure those rights are protected,” commented Lang.
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Hunter Segree, 28, of New Jersey; Isayed Rojas, 30, of Staten Island; Joshua Howard, 30, of Queens; and Hothead Grabba, LLC.
They were arraigned by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 74-count indictment in which they are variously charged with:
Second-, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny
Fourth-degree conspiracy
Petit larceny
First-degree offering a false instrument for filing
First-degree scheme to defraud
First-degree falsifying business records
Violation of Section 52 of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law
Second-degree reckless endangerment
Violating Sections 198-a(1) and 662(1) of the New York State Labor Law
They were released without bail and ordered to return to court on Aug. 13, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, Hothead Grabba, LLC, is a company that produces and sells “grabba,” which is ground-up tobacco that may be added to marijuana.
The commercial space in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn on Feb. 28, 2024. The closure of the Brooklyn location caused Hothead Grabba to move to a worksite in Queens, where it continued to pay its tobacco employees by the pound, which was a violation of the minimum wage law. Photo: Alex Krales/THE CITY
Hothead Grabba processed tobacco leaves for that purpose at a factory located at 234 Chestnut Street in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, until March 26, 2024.
On that date, a task force that included members from the New York State Department of Labor, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, and the New York State Inspector General’s Office conducted a civil enforcement sweep at that location.
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board issued a stop work order for failure to maintain workers’ compensation insurance.
The closure of the Brooklyn location caused Hothead Grabba to move to a worksite in Queens, where it continued to pay its employees by the pound, which was a violation of the minimum wage law. It sold the product to convenience stores and other retailers.
Many Hothead Grabba employees allegedly worked approximately 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, cleaning and separating tobacco leaves from their stems, according to the investigation, and were paid based on the number of pounds they processed, not on an hourly basis.
The workers, mostly women, were paid approximately $7 a pound for processing approximately 15 pounds of the leaves per day. Because the work was so time-consuming, their payment for the pounds of tobacco they processed equated to a rate that was far lower than that provided by the applicable minimum wage and overtime laws and regulations.
Furthermore, the defendants failed to pay the employees on a timely basis, sometimes failing to pay them at all for weeks at a time.
Additionally, it is alleged that the workers were made to work with no official lunch or other breaks, in a room with no windows or ventilation and generally with no protective equipment, despite the negative health effects tobacco processing can have.
Furthermore, there was only one exit at the factory, which was allegedly frequently obstructed by tobacco and other materials, and no signs marking that exit in case an emergency required the workers to evacuate the location.
The indictment alleges the defendants withheld approximately $310,000 from a total of 25 employees between Oct. 31, 2022, and July 15, 2024.
NYSDOL Chief Labor Standards Investigator Frank King, Senior Labor Standards Investigator Jorge Gordillo Alvarado and NYS Workers’ Compensation Board Senior Investigator Aleksandra Boyko assisted in the investigation.
The District Attorney thanked KCDA Intelligence Analyst Yacelys Corona, Financial Analyst Veronica Beltran and KCDA Detective Investigators for their work on the case.
The case is being prosecuted by the Chief of the District Attorney’s Construction Crimes and Labor Fraud Unit, Assistant District Attorney Frank Longobardi, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Sergey Marts of the Investigations Division; under the supervision of the Chief of the Frauds Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Pavlides, and Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos; and the overall supervision of the Chief of the Investigations Division, Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill.
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