An interesting book is "Bebt: The first 5000 years" by David Graeber

It talks about the various ways debt can insinuate itself into society. In somce cases it can pull people together, in other ways it can corrupt everything it touches.

Not really. This is a pretty clear-cut case of both ethical and legal violations. After the investigation going public, the sheriff's likely going to go to jail for it.

Above-board prison labor is where the slavery question actually comes into play, simply because it's allowed/legal.