A Justice Department indictment shows three defendants conspired to coerce the agricultural labor and services of Thai nationals by fraudulently inducing the recruits to incur substantial debts secured by the workers homes and family land, then confiscating the workers passports, and threatening to repatriate the victims to face destitution, homelessness and other serious harm if they did not remain in the defendants service for meager earnings.
The three men, Bruce Schwartz, 53, Sam Wongsesanit, 40, and Shane Germann, 42, pled guilty to human trafficking violations involving Global Horizons a Los Angeles-based recruiting company. Schwartz pled guilty to conspiring to commit forced labor, and Germann and Wongsesanit pled guilty to conspiring to commit document servitude. Each man faces maximum sentences of five years in prison. (WCxKit)
Another associate of the defendants, Podjanee Sinchai, was charged and convicted in Thailand with recruitment fraud and sentenced to four years in prison.
According to the Justice Department, a superseding indictment unsealed on January 18, 2011, charged eight defendants in connection with a scheme to lure approximately 600 Thai nationals to enter the United States under the federal agricultural guest worker program between 2001 and 2007.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
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