Forced Labor2015
United States
Nail salon workers earning as little as $3/hour. Immigration documents held threatened with deportation Accused: Salon owners operating chain.
Sex Trafficking2009
United States US
Jodi went to the FBI in 2003. On March 5, 2007, Marcus was convicted of forced labor and sex trafficking, but cleared of obscenity. In a 42-page ruling, U.S. v. Marcus, 05-CR-457, Eastern District of New York Judge Allyne R. Ross upheld the conviction. Ross stated that there was a difference between consent and abuse in such relationships. She also ruled that the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 could be interpreted to apply to domestic relationships. On September 7, 2007, Marcus was sentenced to 9 years in prison. On August 14, 2008, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Marcus' conviction and ordered a retrial because the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act was used to prosecute him for events before the law was in place. In July 2009 the Department of Justice Appealed the 2nd circuit courts ruling to the Supreme Court and in October 2009 the Supreme Court agreed to review the prosecutions appeal. Arguments will be held early in 2010.
CSEC2008
United States US
Allen Brown, aka "Prince", age 47 funded a lavish lifestyle by running a trafficking ring for almost two decades. He recruited women all over N.J. from Camden and Philadelphia to Atlantic City to Jersey City, where he lived. He enticed women with promises of money and a better life.The women had their cell phones and identification taken and were locked inside houses or apartments and not allowed to leave or contact others on the outside. Brown had anywhere from 2 - 20 women working for him each night since 1990, forcing them to bring in a set amount of cash each day, usually from $500-$1000. If the women didn't meet his demands, they were sometimes beaten or denied the drugs he kept many addicted to. Six others were also indicted for helping run the ring or for laundering money. Some of these were Brown's relatives, including his mother, niece and nephew. Annie Cooper, 41, of Jersey City, pleaed guilty last month to first-degree racketering. Officers say she acted as the women's boss, enforcing Brown's house rules.