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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Beginning in 2000 until August 2008, Lynda Dieu Phan, Duc Cao Nguyen, and Justin Phan conspired for Lynda Dieu Phan to travel to Vietnam to recruit victims to work in her nail salons located in the York, PA, area. The group arranged fraudulent marriages for the victims so they could gain entry into the United States. The victims were told that they could earn off their debt for being brought to America in 3 years. However, once in the country, the victims were forced to work at Lynda Dieu Phan’s nail salons and as domestic servants in her home. The victims reportedly worked long hours, often 7 days a week, for no pay. They were also said to have worked under emotionally demoralizing circumstances. One of the victims became acquainted with a customer through the nail salon, and it was through this customer that one victim was able to escape. The victim fled from Lynda’s home at 1:30am on June 1, 2008. The other victims were not emancipated until August 2008.
Response and intervention
ICE investigated the nail salon, and Lynda Dieu Phan, Duc Cao Nguyen, and Justin Phan were subsequently arrested. Lynda Dieu Phan and Duc Cao Nguyen were sentenced to a 90-day term of imprisonment followed by 270 days of home arrest and one year of supervised release. The judge further ordered that Phan pay $300,000 in restitution. Nguyen was sentenced to a one-year term of probation and a $1,000 fine. The disposition of Justin Phan is unknown. It is unknown what aftercare or supports were provided to the victims. One victim escaped through the encouragement and help of a customer at the nail salon.