California-headquartered tuna brand Bumble Bee Foods has knowingly profited from forced labor on its suppliers’ fishing vessels for years, alleges a lawsuit filed in San Diego County federal court on Wednesday.

Four workers said they were tricked into signing exploitative contracts based on false promises of fair employment. Instead, they worked for months on end for little to no pay, pulling up to 18 hour workdays in unsafe and violent work conditions,

The lawsuit alleges that Bumble Bee was aware of or should have been aware of the abusive conditions on vessels supplying tuna to the company.

Four Indonesian villagers who say they were subjected to physical abuse and forced labor while working for San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods sued the canned tuna company .

San Diego-based canned tuna giant Bumble Bee Seafoods has known for years that fishing vessels in its supply fleet used forced labor but failed to stop the practice, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court that’s believed to be the first ever to allege human trafficking against a U.S. seafood company.

Four Indonesian workers claim they were beaten and forced to work on ships that supplied tuna for the San Diego based company.

A group of four fishermen from Indonesia, co-counseled by attorneys for NGO Greenpeace USA, have sued Bumble Bee Foods, claiming they experienced forced labor and human trafficking while working on fishing vessels supplying the company.

In a lawsuit filed in California, the plaintiffs said that Bumble Bee Foods was aware of and benefited from abuse by suppliers. The company declined to comment.

Lawyers representing four Indonesian fishermen say they were beaten and trapped on vessels that were part of the global supply chain that provided tuna to Bumble Bee Seafoods

Lawyers representing four Indonesian fishermen who say they were beaten and trapped on vessels that were part of the global supply chain that provided tuna to Bumble Bee Seafoods