Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
Hsien-Hsien “Jacqueline” Liu, 64, of Taiwan, residing in Overland Park, Kan., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty on November 18, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to the charge of fraud in foreign labor contracting for fraudulently obtaining two Filipino servants for her residence. By pleading guilty, Liu admitted that she fraudulently entered into employment contracts with two Filipino housekeepers, whom Liu then brought to the United States to work for her on B-1 visas. Liu paid them significantly less than the contractual amount and forced them to work excessive hours. In November 2010, Liu recruited and solicited a female citizen of Manila, Phillippines (identified in the plea agreement as Female Victim #1) to come to the United States to work as a housekeeper for her residence. Liu sent a signed contract via both Federal Express and fax from Kansas City, Mo., to Manila, which contained fraudulent terms of employment. The employment contract, which was used to obtain a B-1 visa for the victim, required that she be paid $1,240 per month to work 40 hours a week, eight hours a day. It only required her to be present in the residence during work hours. Liu admitted that she did not intend to comply with these terms. From March 6, 2011 to August 2011, contrary to the terms of the contract, Liu only paid the victim $450 a month, increased her work hours to 16-18 hours per day, and required that she work on the weekends and holidays. Liu had surveillance cameras installed inside the residence to monitor the victim and did not allow her to leave the residence without supervision or permission. The government’s investigation uncovered evidence that Liu had earlier engaged in the same conduct with another employee. Although the original federal criminal complaint charged Liu with conduct related to Female Victim #1, the affidavit filed in support of that complaint referred to a second victim. As part of the plea agreement, Liu is required to accept responsibility for the prior victim (identified in the plea agreement as Female Victim #2), also a woman from the Philippines, whom Liu employed in 2009-2010. Liu is the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office located in Kansas City, Mo. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) is one of 13 offices responsible for maintaining close unofficial relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan. They are generally the equivalent of a consulate of a foreign government, but the United States does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Jeffrey L. Byrd was investigated for recruiting an 18-year-old prostitute and transporting her to New York, and attempted recruitment a 14-year-old into prostitution. Local law enforcement interceded in the matter and arrested Byrd. Byrd was charged with transportation to engage in prostitution; attempted interstate transportation to engage in prostitution; and attempted interstate transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Byrd entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to over 4 years imprisonment; three years supervised release, and was ordered to pay $600.00 in fines.
Bonded Labor2011
United States US
Omelyan Botsvynyuk, 52, and Stepan Botsvynyuk, 36, were convicted October 12, 2011 of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in connection with a human trafficking scheme. Omelyan was also convicted of one count of extortion. From the fall of 2000 through the spring of 2007, the brothers conspired to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity by operating a human trafficking organization which smuggled young Ukrainian immigrants into the United States and then forced them to work for the brothers with little or no pay. The defendants promised the victims they would earn $500 per month with free room and board by working for the Botsvynyuk organization. Once the workers were smuggled into the United States, the brothers confiscated the immigration documents, then put the victims to work on cleaning crews in retail stores, private homes, and office buildings without paying them. The brothers used physical force, threats of force, sexual assault, and debt bondage to keep the victims in involuntary servitude. The brothers also threatened violence to the workers’ families who still residing in Ukraine. One female worker was brutally raped on several occasions by Omelyan. Prosecutors described the defendants as the "enforcers" of the enterprise in America, while brothers in the Ukraine served as recruiters. The recruiting was easy, given the lack of economic opportunity, they said. Omelyan Botsvynyuk was acquitted of similar charges at a trial in the Ukraine. The Botsvynyuks housed the victims in deplorable conditions and insisted they work for years until they pay off smuggling debts of $10,000 to $50,000, according to the indictment filed last year. The workers were moved frequently throughout the mid-Atlantic, where they said they often spent 16-hour days cleaning stores, offices and supermarkets. Some escaped despite the threats, prosecutors said. Authorities have said the retail stores were unaware of the situation, because they hired cleaning crews through contractors."I think every business should know who's working for them, but this is a common practice in all large businesses, they use subcontractors to hire workers," said Asst. U.S. Atty General Daniel A. Velez. Velez said he hoped the verdict would lead to more prosecutions of human-trafficking cases in the United States. The Botsvynyuk crews cleaned WalMart, Target, Kmart, Safeway, and other retail stores, along with homes and offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New York and New Jersey. Juror Joe Higgins, a Teamsters Union trucker from Northeast Philadelphia, said: "They (stores) should check into what kind of contractors they're using to clean their stores. Do a little bit of digging, and make sure they're not using illegal aliens," said Higgins, 53. "Just because it's cheapest, it's not (always) right." The two defendants were indicted with three other brothers: Mykhaylo and Dmytro Botsvynyuk are awaiting extradition from Canada; Yaroslav Botsvynyuk is reportedly dead.
Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
Deputy Sheriff Alfredo Navarrette ICE Trained Navarette admitted to passing information about the sheriff's crime-prevention operations to the group, Arpaio said. The deputy also was accused of being part of a separate human trafficking ring that smuggled illegal immigrants from Arizona to California. Navarette, who was once assigned to sheriff's human smuggling unit and was cross-trained as a federal immigration agent, regularly smuggled loads of illegal immigrants, Arpaio said. Detention Officer Sylvia Najera ICE Trained Detention Officer Marcella Hernandez ICE Trained All three officers were ICE trained. They are accused of tipping off drug traffickers and human smugglers about ongoing investigations. Hernandez allegedly had an ongoing personal relationship with a major drug kingpin and was 8-months pregnant with his child. According to court documents, she arranged the transfer of multiple heroin loads and allowed her boyfriend's drug trafficking organization to use her two houses as stash houses. Najera also allegedly had ties to a big drug trafficking ring. Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that Navarrette used to work in the anti-human smuggling unit for a short time, and when officers raided his house, they found two illegal immigrants being housed inside. According to court documents, 37-year-old Navarrette was a member of the drug trafficking organization and drove load vehicles, laundered money, and transported illegal immigrants from Arizona to California, among many other duties.
CSEC2011
United States US
Michael Simmons, Stephanie Gease, and Deshonqua Strait were all convicted in relation to a case of child prostitution. Simmons was found guilty of transporting a child from PA to CA and sentenced to 17.5 years. Gease, was sentenced to 8 months for purchasing a bus ticket and escorting the child to the bus station. Strait was sentenced to 12 months for training and supervising the child.
CSEC2011
United States US
James Russell Ashley, 46, of Augusta, Georgia, and Wayne Allen Ginnis, 28, of Seattle, Washington, were indicted August 24, 2011 by a federal grand jury in Pocatello, Idaho, for transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to have sexual activity with the minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ashley was arraigned August 24, 2011 in United States District Court in Pocatello. He entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. The case is set for trial on October 18, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge. As of August 2011, Ginnis was in state custody in Texas and had not yet appeared on the indictment. The indictment alleges that on or about May 2, 2011, Ashley and Ginnis purchased bus tickets for two girls, ages 12 and 13, both from Pocatello, Idaho to travel to Hollywood, California, with the intent to engage in sexual activity with the girls. The girls and the men met on an Internet game site and later talked by cell phone.
CSEC2011
United States US
After negotiating with detectives online, or by phone, the suspects traveled to an undisclosed location in Polk County where they offered detectives sex acts ranging from oral sex to intercourse in exchange for cash. The majority of the ads were found on backpage.com.but the ads used by the suspects also appeared on www.Bootytag.com, www.Findhotescorts.com, www.Sipsap.com, and others. Detectives said they were shocked when among those arrested was a 15-year-old. The 15 year old arrived at the undercover location after being contacted by undercover detectives via Findhotescorts.com. Her two-month old baby and alleged pimp remained in the vehicle. Investigation revealed she was 15 years old and a runaway from Chicago, IL. The 15 year old’s alleged pimp, Jonathan Padilla, was identified as a criminal gang member upon his arrest by Gang Unit Detectives and is alleged by a witness to be associated with the Maniac Campbell Boys criminal gang in Chicago.
CSEC2011
United States US
Andrew Fakhoury, 23, of Yonkers, N.Y. Prosecutors said that Fakhoury began forcing young women into prostitution in New York before moving his operation to Rhode Island in October of 2008 to take advantage of a loophole in state law that allowed indoor prostitution, until it was banned in 2009. Fakhoury eventually moved into an apartment in Providence’s Elmhurst section with one of those women and advertised her on Craigslist. So far, four victims have come to light; the youngest was 16 years old, and the oldest was 19. Two of the victims were from Yonkers, one was from upstate, and the fourth was from out of state. All were described as middle class kids with good grades – attractive yet emotionally vulnerable. One victim was promised a job as a waitress in Rhode Island on the beach. Using drugs and abusing the women, Fakhoury and his alleged cohort, Joseph Defeis, celebrated the thug life in several music videos posted on YouTube last year. Fakhoury called himself “Kash” and Defeis was “Jemz,” rapping in videos of them cruising around Providence in a black SUV, flashing fistfuls of $100 bills, and bragging that they were gangsters. With sunglasses perched on his nose and a large crucifix swinging from his neck, Fakhoury bragged: “Tell my lawyer, just eat the case.” A woman gyrated around a stripper pole in another video, as Fakhoury and Defeis rapped: “I keep a couple hos from around my way.” Providence police said the men beat the girls, kept close tabs on their cell phone calls, and treated them like merchandise.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Hong Wei, a.k.a. Ms. Chen, 38, from Flushing, NY; Jing Liang, a.k.a. Mike Chen, 31, from Quincy MA; Xiang Hua, a.k.a. Darren Zhang, 27, from Flushing NY; Yu En, a.k.a. Eric Jin, 26, from Quincy, MA; Dong Kai Chem, 41, from Quincy, MA. All were arrested March, 31st, 2010 after a police raid on the Quincy brothel. Two of these men were previously arrested in Aug. 2005 after a police raid on the Peabody brothel run by Ms. Chen & Mike Chen. These traffickers ran several brothels out of various apartments scattered throughout the greater Boston area including Peabody, Quincy, Boston, Wellesly, Newton, Watertown, Somerville, Woburn, Burlington,Medford, Stoneham, & Malden. Most of these brothels have been in operation for at least the past 5 1/2 years. The traffickers enticed Asian women to travel to Massachusettes where they were put to work as prostitutes. They advertised in Chinese language papers in California, New York, & Massachusettes and on Craig's list and in the Boston Pheonix under the female escort section. It is reported that they paid over $13,125 to the Boston Pheonix over a 7 month period. The traffickers transported women by bus to South Station and then by car to various brothels throughout the greater Boston area. The women were lured or tricked into prostitution, being told they would be doing other types of work, and were forced to stay with threats to themselves or other family members and physical abuse if they did not comply with the demands of Ms. Chen. They also forced older women to work as domestic servants in the apartments (brothels) to take care of house cleaning and upkeeping of the apartments and taking care of the younger women as well.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
On November 9, 2011, Kemp Shiffer, 58, of Reno, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben to one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution. The plea agreement filed in the case states that on about July 25, 2011, Shiffer transported an individual identified as “C.M.,” from California to Nevada with the intent that “C.M.” would engage in prostitution when she arrived in Nevada. Shiffer engaged in coercive conduct in order to compel “C.M.” to engage in prostitution, and Shiffer was the organizer, leader, manager, and supervisor of the criminal activity, which included another participant, identified in the plea agreement as “E.H.”, who helped Shiffer recruit and transport “C.M.” from California to Nevada. As the investigation into Shiffer's dealings continued, Reno PD says that Shiffer retired from the United States Internal Revenue Service years ago but believe he may have been using his IRS badge to further his recruitment efforts into prostitution. His recruiting may go back as far as 10 years. Aside from his stint as an IRS agent, Shiffer was also an accounting instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. According to Lahontan Valley News Shiffer along with David Houston and John Kirsch applied for a brothel license in 2006 but were denied.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The Undercover Officer (UC herein) called the phone number provided in the ad at 4:30 PM. The UC spoke with a female. The female on the phone stated that she was just checking in at her hotel and asked the UC to call back in 30 minutes. Officers then contacted the hotel and learned that Sanders and Nicholas had just checked in again. Officers learned that they had rented rooms 216 and 253/4 (a suite). The UC called the phone number in the ad at 5:30 PM and again spoke to the female. The female on the phone stated it was $150.00 for a 1/2 session and $200.00 for an hour. The UC and the female discussed the particular sexual acts included in this price and the female indicated it was "full service." The female indicated her location and told the UC to call back when he was close to get the room number. At about 5:59 PM, the UC called the phone number again and the female stated she was in room 216. As he exited his vehicle, the UC observed a white female, exit room 216 and walk around the corner towards room 253/4. The female stared intently at the UC as he approached the hotel. The UC went to room 216, knocked on the door and victim answered. The UC and victim agreed to exchange money for sexual contact and the UC signaled the arrest team to enter the room. Officers went to room 253/4 and located defendant and other as well as a small child. The room smelled of marijuana. A plastic bag containing a small amount of what appeared to be marijuana was located on defendant.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Three suspects were arrested and charged with kidnapping. During the investigation, police obtained a search warrant for “the room and a 2001 BMW sport utility vehicle, seizing records, cellular telephones, computers and cash. Police impounded the car.” After the arrest, the suspects were held in York County jail on a bail of $100,000. That bail was later lowered to $2500 for the two women and $1000 for the man. “Police say they are exploring charges of aggravated promotion of prostitution.”
CSEC2011
United States US
Mahendar "Mike" Singh, 40, and his wife, Helen Jean Singh, 22. Both are natives of Sacramento. Mahendar admitted to recruiting teenage females to provide sex services in exchange for money and drugs and to knowing that at least one of the teenagers was a juvenile. Mahendar Singh also admitted that he and his co-defendant(his wife) were able to maintain their victims’ services by providing them with money, clothing, and drugs, promising them a family-like environment, and using and threatening the use of physical force. An affidavit filed in connection with this case alleged that the defendants used an Internet website to advertise their victims and employed cell phones and text messaging to make arrangements with customers.
CSEC2011
United States US
Will Moss forced minors into prostitution, transported them across state lines and controlled them through force and intimidation. Moss repeatedly assaulted and raped them. Moss was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervision, when and if he is released he must register as a sex offender.
CSEC2011
United States US
Police investigated the hotel on a tip, interviewed the girls, then arrested the couple and put them into a San Mateo jail to await hearing.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
22-year-old Tynisha Marie Hornbuckle, 25-year-old Tamrell Rena Hornbuckle, 23-year-old Latrelle Alicia Hornbuckle, 24-year-old Cherrelle Elizabeth Hornbuckle, 43-year-old Tammy Rena Brown, and 24-year-old Jacquelin Lanoise Radisha Wade
CSEC2011
United States US
This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocence Lost Task Force, a task force comprised of the FBI, the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case. Docket #: :11-CR-477 JAM The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591 is no less than 10 years in prison, and up to life, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime period of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
CSEC2011
United States US
Hamilton was sentenced August 22, 2011 in federal court in San Diego by the Honorable William Q. Hayes to serve 141 months in custody and 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison based on Hamilton’s conviction for one count of sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1591. Hamilton entered his guilty plea on November 9, 2010.
CSEC2011
United States US
The charges are the result of "Operation Vice Grip," an 18-month investigation spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oceanside Police Department and the Escondido Police Department. Operation Vice Grip focused on prostitution activities orchestrated by members and associates of the Oceanside Crips street gang. According to court documents, in recent years this street gang has focused its for-profit criminal activity on promoting and managing prostitution in San Diego County and throughout the United States. The gang-controlled prostitution spawned a "pimping" subculture that enforced strict rules with consequences for individuals who violated them. In addition, the following agencies provided substantial assistance with the investigation - the U.S. Marshals Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Carlsbad Police Department; the North County Gang Task Force; the Riverside County Sheriff's Department - Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team; and the San Diego County Jurisdictions United for Drug and Gang Enforcement (JUDGE) Task Force.
CSEC2011
United States US
Theodore Love was arrested on state charges for promoting prostitution. The investigation found six females, two of which were juveniles ages 13 and 17. Love transported the women and children to Las Vegas, Nevada; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles, California, and forced them to work as prostitutes. Love advertised his escort company “The Love Zone” in the Spectator magazine and on the Internet at Eros Guide. Love was indicted federally, charged with sex trafficking of children; and transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Love pled guilty and was sentenced to over 7 years in prison.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
The husband and 3 girls were taken into custody by the police. When questioned, all 3 girls reported that they were being forced into prostitution by the husband and wife. The wife was also later found at the hotel and arrested along with her husband – they were booked into San Mateo County Jail for human trafficking under the agoe of 18, pimping, pandering and conspiracy.
Domestic Servitude2011
United States US
A couple lured a Brazilian woman (who the wife knew as the victim was a childhood friend) to the U.S. by offering her free lodging at their home and work as the family’s housekeeper and nanny for $1,500 a month with the promise of pursuing a nursing degree and a better life for her and her son. However, once the victim began working, her traffickers took her passport from her, withheld pay and food, was physically attacked by the wife, and was sexually molested by the husband. The traffickers claimed to have immunity and therefore any accusation made by the victim against them would be fruitless.
CSEC2011
United States US
The couple was charged with child sex trafficking after officers discovered them at the Travelodge on Airport Boulevard in August with three teenage girls who said they were being held by force as prostitutes, according to police.
Sex Trafficking2011
United States US
Police entered a hotel room to find a 19-year-old girl in only a bra and underwear. The girl claimed that Armstrong was forcing her to prostitute herself. Armstrong was arrested.