A huge human trafficking ring based in Kansas City allegedly lured hundreds of foreign workers into low-paying jobs illegally and turned them into "modern-day slaves," federal officials announced Wednesday.

    Three area employment firms controlled by a Mission resident brought the workers into the United States and forced them to live in substandard conditions, an indictment announced Wednesday alleged.

    Occasionally cramming eight workers into a small apartment and making some sleep on the floor or on air mattresses, the employment companies provided the workers under contract to construction firms and hotels, resorts and casinos in 14 states.

    Those construction businesses and hotels were assured that their contract workers were being paid prevailing wages. But the employment firms allegedly paid the workers only a fraction of what they deserved and heaped on thousands of dollars in fees, making it impossible for them to quit or even afford a plane ticket home.

    "The indictment alleges that this criminal enterprise lured victims to the United States under the guise of legitimate jobs and a better life, only to treat them as modern-day slaves under the threat of deportation," said James Gibbons, acting special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in a written statement.

    Wednesday's federal indictment accused 12 people and the three companies of racketeering, visa fraud, marriage fraud, identity theft and other counts in a scheme that allegedly involved forced labor trafficking and immigration violations. The conspiracy allegedly started in 2001.

    One of the charges, fraud in foreign labor contracting, has never been used before in the United States.

    The grand jury returned the 90-page, 45-count indictment in secret on May 6. Prosecutors announced it on Wednesday after authorities arrested eight defendants the day before. Don Ledford, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said investigators still were serving search warrants Wednesday and had begun interviewing some of the workers.

    Workers determined to be victims of human trafficking become eligible for federal medical, counseling, food and housing services, Ledford said. Trafficking victims also may apply to remain in the United States legally.

    Most of the workers came from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines, Ledford said.

    The enterprise ‚Äî based out of companies headquartered in Kansas City, Mission and Overland Park ‚Äî allegedly employed hundreds of illegal aliens as construction workers and as cleaners and housekeepers at hotels, resorts and casinos in Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wyoming.

    Those named in the indictment: Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan living in Mission; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek Abdoollayev, 27, citizens of Uzbekistan living in Kansas City; Viorel Simon, 27, Alexandru Frumasache , 23, citizens of Moldova living in Kansas City, Kan.; Kristin Dougherty, 49, of Ellisville, Mo.; Andrew Cole, 53, of St. Charles, Mo.; Abdukakhar Azizkhodjaev, 49, a citizen of Uzbekistan living in Panama City, Fla.; and Sandjar Agzamov, 27, and Jakhongir Kakhkharov, 29, citizens of Uzbekistan who recently left the United States.

    Three companies controlled by Askarkhodjaev also were charged: Giant Labor Solutions LLC, headquartered in Kansas City; Crystal Management Inc. in Mission; and Five Star Cleaning LLC in Overland Park.

    Here's how the alleged scheme worked, according to prosecutors and federal court records:

    The companies used the Internet to solicit foreign workers with offers of employment in the United States and then charged them up to $5,000 for transportation and to process their visa applications.

    Once in the United States, the workers were required to pay exorbitant prices to live in apartments rented by the companies.

    "The defendants . . . required them to reside together in crowded, substandard and overpriced apartments," said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Whitworth.

    Complaints about living conditions often drew a sharp response, the indictment alleged.

    "The enterprise often threatened to cancel the immigration status of foreign nationals who requested permission to seek alternative housing," the indictment alleged.

    The employment companies also closely monitored the workers' incoming mail, having it forwarded to their offices, the indictment alleged.

    The workers often served at some of the best-known hotels in the area, including the Westin Crown Center hotel and the Doubletree Hotel, which had been assured that the workers were being paid prevailing hourly wages and were properly documented.

    Instead, the indictment alleged that the employment companies paid some workers on an illegal commission basis, giving them about $3.50 for each hotel room they cleaned. The companies then kept the remaining wages, any overtime owed and payroll taxes.

    The workers also saw their earnings potential sapped by fees for uniforms, visa extensions and transportation to their job sites.

    The conspirators assessed a fee of up to $2,500 if the worker wanted to moonlight at a second job, and threatened to charge the families of the workers a $5,000 fee if they returned to their home country.

    "These fees, combined with the lack of payment for hours worked ... often resulted in the foreign national workers receiving a paycheck with negative earnings," the indictment alleged.

    The Details

    Indicted: 12 people, three businesses.

    Charges: Racketeering, labor fraud, marriage fraud, visa fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, harboring illegal aliens, money laundering, extortion.

    Victims: Hundreds.

    States where they worked: 14.

    Alleged proceeds: At least $6 million.

All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.