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22 © 2016 Winston & Strawn LLP
TRAFFICKING
Houston TeamSecures Substantial Restitution for Indonesian Victimof
Labor Trafficking
Houston office attorneys
Melanie Gray,
(former associate) Jennifer Nelsen
, Matt
Tanner
, and
Mike Krill,
with assistance from paralegal
Susan Stroud
,
secured
substantial damages against a labor trafficker who held our client, an Indonesian
household worker, in slave-like conditions in their San Antonio home. Our client’s
employers, a man and wife from Qatar, came to the United States with their family
in 2014 so that the husband, a senior Qatari military official, could receive training
at Camp Bullis in San Antonio. The couple brought our client with them to the U. S.
without her consent, and through an A-3 visa that was obtained fraudulently. While
in the U. S. , the couple physically abused our client, refused to pay her wages,
cut off her communication with her family in Indonesia, withheld her passport, and
failed to provide her with adequate medical care, food, and housing.
After our client escaped her virtual captivity, the team helped guide her through the
prospective criminal and civil trafficking proceedings. Within months of her escape,
her former employers were indicted for forced labor by the U. S. Department of
Justice. They ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges of visa fraud and were
required to pay our client and a second victim each $60,000 in criminal restitution.
In addition, they were ordered to self-remove from the U. S. and are prohibited
from ever returning in the future. The team also negotiated a generous settlement
for our client, which she plans to use to purchase land and support her children
and family when she returns home. Finally, as a result of this high-profile case, the
Qatari military has made a policy decision prohibiting individuals coming to live in
the U. S. under A-2 visas from bringing their household workers with them.
NewYork TeamFacilitates Arrest of Employer Engaged in Visa Fraud
Scheme
A team of New York attorneys, including
Marissa Nardi
,
Ross Kramer
, and
Suzanne Jaffe Bloom
facilitated the arrest by the U. S. Department of Justice of a
New Jersey business owner for allegedly orchestrating a multi-pronged H-1B visa
fraud scheme through her shell company. She was charged with wire fraud, visa
fraud, and aggravated identify theft for her fraudulent scheme. The Department
of Justice investigation unearthed numerous victims besides our client who were
trafficked under similar circumstances.
The client, a nurse, was lured to the United States with promises of a job in the
medical industry. But upon arriving in the U.S., our client and the other victims
were employed in menial tasks, such as handing out flyers on street corners.
They were subsequently threatened and mistreated by the trafficker. As a result
of the charges, our client is now eligible for restitution, the crime against her will
be addressed, and the trafficker will be unable to perpetrate the same fraud and
abuse against other vulnerable victims. The team is prepared to file a civil claim
against the trafficker in the event that the federal restitution process does not result
in restitution from the trafficker.
Melanie Gray
Ross Kramer