Six Charged In Forced Labor Of 400 Thais On US Farms

[webfact]

Six charged in forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US Justice Department on Thursday announced indictments against six people for luring 400 Thais to the United States and conspiring to force them into working as farm laborers.

A grand jury in Honolulu indicted the six for their alleged scheme "to coerce the labor and services of approximately 400 Thai nationals brought by the defendants to the United States from Thailand from May 2004 through September 2005 to work on farms across the country."

Officials said Israeli Mordechai Orian, Pranee Tubchumpol, Shane Germann and Sam Wongsesanit of the Los Angeles-based company Global Horizons Manpower conspired with Thai labor recruiters Ratawan Chunharutai and Podjanee Sinchai to carry out the crimes that began with false promises of lucrative jobs.

The Thais, upon arrival in the United States, had their passports taken away and forced to pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, which were "financed by debts secured with the workers' family property and homes."

The defendants maintained the victims' labor on farms in Hawaii and the western US state of Washington "by threatening to send them back to Thailand, knowing they would face serious economic harms created by the debts," said the Justice Department.

If convicted, Orian and Tubchumpol face maximum sentences of 70 years in prison, and Chunharutai faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison, officials said.

The others face maximum sentences of five to 10 years in prison.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-09-03

[asiawatcher]

Low-lifes dealing in the misery of humanity. I would lock them up and throw away the key! What is even more sad is the willingness of Thai workers to give up their families and leave to be able to support their spouse and siblings. Then being handled by these animals, makes me really sick! This is nothing short of human trafficking and slave labour.

[mmh8]

agree with the above comment,

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

[leininger]

You are missing the point here. These creeps were arrested and prosecuted. Humans rights abuses such as you mention are those perpetrated by the government of the offending nation. No nation is without criminals. however in some cases it the nation itself that commits the crime, not the individuals. This is clearly not the case in this instance.

[rubl]

If convicted the issue becomes: what will happen with the forced loans the families of workers involved were forced to take. Will they be absolved ? Clearly this needs attention.

[animatic]

You are missing the point here. These creeps were arrested and prosecuted. Humans rights abuses such as you mention are those perpetrated by the government of the offending nation. No nation is without criminals. however in some cases it the nation itself that commits the crime, not the individuals. This is clearly not the case in this instance.

They've been arrested and charged,

prosecution is just setting up it's paperwork.

One wonders what happens to the hapless 400 Thai's during this 1-2 years before

the badies get the book thrown at them.

And what happens to those loans they owe to someone IN Thailand and not USA.

Some how I doubt the loans just evaporate because the USA side of the coin has legal issues.

Some one here has liens on their family property.

No payment from USA partners,

no loans paid, oops, we got your land, slo slolly.

Edited September 3, 2010 by animatic

[RKASA]

agree with the above comment,

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

I would say investigating, arresting and prosecuting would be a positive. You did notice that most of the persons running this scam are also Thai. (big shocker) As has been the case several other times in the past.

Coming to America and acting Thai is not a good idea. You can't buy a court ruling there, worst of luck to them.

Another good reason to look harder at citizenship, residence and work permits in the US the way they do here in Thailand and other countries to prevent this sort of thing.

[mmh8]

agree with the above comment,

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

I would say investigating, arresting and prosecuting would be a positive. You did notice that most of the persons running this scam are also Thai. (big shocker) As has been the case several other times in the past.

Coming to America and acting Thai is not a good idea. You can't buy a court ruling there, worst of luck to them.

Another good reason to look harder at citizenship, residence and work permits in the US the way they do here in Thailand and other countries to prevent this sort of thing.

My point was about the stick the us like to use on other countries instead of looking at its own problems, but looks like it is already happening

http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates

any way points mean prizes as they say

[SamritT]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

[rubl]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

As mentioned in another topic, please stop making ridiculous remarks and go back sleep, my dear.

[LomSak27]

mmh8 posted

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

ah here we go ...

Guess you missed the last one of these cases - Reported in The Nation as 'American Company Steal Thai workers salary and leaves them stranded' Ugly but strangely enough the Nation, bastion of the free press that it is, did NOT mention that the company was set up by a Thai national who subsequently fled to Thailand. Attempts by the State Of California to extradite have so far proved fruitless. As reported in the Chronicle (SF) when the migrant workers were repatriated they went to the company owner’s house in Bangkok to find it surrounded by police. The Thai police were there to keep the labourers he stole from off his property.

At least these clowns are going to face a trial. Yes Animatic, The State of California probably does not have a high regard for ‘Thai extradition proceedings” after that episode. And they want to extradite Thaksin. What goes around comes around

[craigt3365]

Another good reason to look harder at citizenship, residence and work permits in the US the way they do here in Thailand and other countries to prevent this sort of thing.

There's all kinds of problems here in Thailand. Illegal workers abound. Forced labor is common. Trafficking is rampant. Not sure the US should use Thailand as a model of how to do these kinds of things. The US has the same problem as Thailand. An open and porous border. Easy to go back and forth...though getting harder and harder in the US.

I use to live in a condo next to a big construction site...and it's corresponding "work" camp. One day the Thai police showed up (probably to collect money). The workers were scrambling over the walls to get away.

The Thai's prey on their own people. I know of several cases where a Thai has put up some 30-40k Baht for an overseas job...only to get scammed. They prey on the poor people in the village and their dream of a better life for their family. They should be caught and put in jail...if they had good police here, who weren't in bed with these guys...it might happen?

[gonzobrains]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

As mentioned in another topic, please stop making ridiculous remarks and go back sleep, my dear.

forced? probably not. duped? definitely.

i wonder how they even got the visas to get across the pond in the first place.

[sbk]

Usually in these cases they are lured with false promises, and on arrival their passports confiscated, and they are often unpaid or severely underpaid.

Certainly they went willingly, that does not make them any less the victims here.

Unfortunately, these cases are not uncommon, a Thai man living in Boulder Colorado was indicted on the same thing in February.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_14418718

Also important to note is that the sweatshop slave laborers in the infamous case in LA many have acquired US citizenship

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/14/local/me-thai14

[tomyummer]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

As mentioned in another topic, please stop making ridiculous remarks and go back sleep, my dear.

forced? probably not. duped? definitely.

i wonder how they even got the visas to get across the pond in the first place.

The U.S. is the one to set-up this farm employment program because either 1) no American is willing to do the work, and 2) if the American do want the work, the rates are too high to allow the produce to be sold to the public reasonably. The special circumstance visas were issued by the U.S. One of the farms in the scandal is based in Hawaii, called Aloun Farms (found this: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12836451).

Funny thing is there is another type of program for students available which is a work-study type offering in the U.S. The students also get special visas allowing them to work for a limited time. Agents here and in the U.S. take a portion of their salaries as pay. They work menial jobs such as Pizza Huts, tollway booths, amusement parks, etc. It's for filling spaces that average Americans don't want.

So who's to blame? The lazy Americans and governement opening these opportunities for foreigners? Or the sleazy agencies? Take your pick.

[DP25]

i wonder how they even got the visas to get across the pond in the first place.

That's why they had to pay money to the job brokers to get the jobs, they can't get visas to go to the US without them. It's standard for Thais working overseas in these kind of menial jobs. Now they'll be saddled with the same debt, only now they can't pay it off because they have no job in the US. Good on the US for enforcing their laws that don't allow job brokers but the Thai workers here are probably going to get screwed and have their lives ruined where as otherwise they would have gone home with a nice wad of cash

[toenail]

Every country has snakes who uses "scams" to get workers from poorer countries to theirs, then pay them nothing or do not follow the contract. One of the worse is Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Disgusting and sad; yet countries such as the Phillipines, Nepal, Pakistan, India are afraid to protest of cruelty to their "export labor" force because of the big $$ involved.

[webfact]

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Six charged in largest US human trafficking case

By Agencies

The US Justice Department on Thursday announced indictments against six people for luring 400 Thais to the United States and conspiring to force them into working as farm laborers, LA Times online reported.

Employees and the owner of a Los Angeles-based labor-recruiting company were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Honolulu for allegedly engaging in a human-trafficking conspiracy involving Thai immigrants who were forced to work on farms, the FBI said.

The indictment alleges that Global Horizons Manpower Inc., located in Westwood, was involved in a scheme to coerce the labor and services of about 400 Thai nationals brought to the United States from May 2004 through September 2005 to work on farms across the country under a federal agricultural guest-worker program, the FBI said in a news release.

Named in the indictment are Mordechai Orian, Pranee Tubchumpol, Shane Germann and Sam Wongsesanit, all of Global Horizons Manpower.

Thai labor recruiters Ratawan Chunharutai and Podjanee Sinchai were also charged with engaging in the conspiracy to commit forced labor, the FBI said.

Representatives of the company could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

The indictment alleges that the defendants enticed the Thai immigrants to come to the United States with false promises of lucrative jobs. The workers had their passports confiscated and were not paid the wages outlined in their contracts, the FBI said.

-- The Nation 2010-09-03

[craigt3365]

Hopefully, they won't be able to flee the country. At least in the US, they will get a fair trial...and if guilty, a decent penalty. Can't payoff the judges and the police (usually).

I do find it amazing, as an American, to hear all the people there complain about Mexican's stealing their jobs...when very few would do the jobs they do...especially at that price. And as a consumer, I prefer the lowest price possible!

[sirchai]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

The Thais, upon arrival in the United States, had their passports taken away and forced to pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, which were "financed by debts secured with the workers' family property and homes."

Guess they were looking for work......

[sirchai]

agree with the above comment,

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

I would say investigating, arresting and prosecuting would be a positive. You did notice that most of the persons running this scam are also Thai. (big shocker) As has been the case several other times in the past.

Coming to America and acting Thai is not a good idea. You can't buy a court ruling there, worst of luck to them.

Another good reason to look harder at citizenship, residence and work permits in the US the way they do here in Thailand and other countries to prevent this sort of thing.

How do you know it's a scam???

[Kilgore Trout]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

As mentioned in another topic, please stop making ridiculous remarks and go back sleep, my dear.

forced? probably not. duped? definitely.

i wonder how they even got the visas to get across the pond in the first place.

The U.S. is the one to set-up this farm employment program because either 1) no American is willing to do the work, and 2) if the American do want the work, the rates are too high to allow the produce to be sold to the public reasonably. The special circumstance visas were issued by the U.S. One of the farms in the scandal is based in Hawaii, called Aloun Farms (found this: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12836451).

Funny thing is there is another type of program for students available which is a work-study type offering in the U.S. The students also get special visas allowing them to work for a limited time. Agents here and in the U.S. take a portion of their salaries as pay. They work menial jobs such as Pizza Huts, tollway booths, amusement parks, etc. It's for filling spaces that average Americans don't want.

So who's to blame? The lazy Americans and governement opening these opportunities for foreigners? Or the sleazy agencies? Take your pick.

The current continuing financial crisis in the US has changed things in many ways. I have noticed many Americans humbled by the past couple of years. Many people are taking major cuts in pay or being forced to take jobs that used to be "beneath them."

I certainly hope the American people learn something from this and begin to change their thinking. We used to be a major producing country known for our hard work ethic. My how that changed.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Kilgore Trout

[lockman]

Hopefully, they won't be able to flee the country. At least in the US, they will get a fair trial...and if guilty, a decent penalty. Can't payoff the judges and the police (usually).

I do find it amazing, as an American, to hear all the people there complain about Mexican's stealing their jobs...when very few would do the jobs they do...especially at that price. And as a consumer, I prefer the lowest price possible!

What I dislike is we have people drawing unemployment, welfare, etc instead of working these jobs. We need to make welfare and extended unemployment less than the minimum wage so some would decide to take these (and other jobs) types of work Really sorry for the Thai's who were duped into this scam.

[faranginexile]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

But under false pretenses. Big difference.

[daboyz1]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

As mentioned in another topic, please stop making ridiculous remarks and go back sleep, my dear.

forced? probably not. duped? definitely.

i wonder how they even got the visas to get across the pond in the first place.

I was wondering the same thing. Took me a year to get my wife a spousal visa to the US.

[Lancelot]

The Thai's prey on their own people. I know of several cases where a Thai has put up some 30-40k Baht for an overseas job...only to get scammed. They prey on the poor people in the village and their dream of a better life for their family. They should be caught and put in jail...if they had good police here, who weren't in bed with these guys...it might happen?

Exactly. We often discuss here about Thais scamming westerners, but we (westerners) are small potatos. The real action is Thais cheating Thais. Sad really...

Edited September 3, 2010 by Lancelot

[mikebell]

Forced labor of 400 Thais on US farms? I believe the 400 went there at their own free wills.

The Thais, upon arrival in the United States, had their passports taken away and forced to pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, which were "financed by debts secured with the workers' family property and homes."

Guess they were looking for work......

Chance would be a fine thing. I can't even get a visa appointment for my Thai wife despite paying fee + PIN money; there are no vacant appointments for the foreseeable future

[mkawish]

LomSak27

Do you happen to have the original primary sources from SFO as well as the Thai news that said that the house was surrounded by Thai police etc., please?

Perhaps, there are some issues that could be done for those cheated individuals. Thx.

mmh8 posted

also wonder what affect his will have on the human rights scoring the us is always touting , perhaps that will be forgotten about again , hmm

ah here we go ...

Guess you missed the last one of these cases - Reported in The Nation as 'American Company Steal Thai workers salary and leaves them stranded' Ugly but strangely enough the Nation, bastion of the free press that it is, did NOT mention that the company was set up by a Thai national who subsequently fled to Thailand. Attempts by the State Of California to extradite have so far proved fruitless. As reported in the Chronicle (SF) when the migrant workers were repatriated they went to the company owner's house in Bangkok to find it surrounded by police. The Thai police were there to keep the labourers he stole from off his property.

At least these clowns are going to face a trial. Yes Animatic, The State of California probably does not have a high regard for 'Thai extradition proceedings" after that episode. And they want to extradite Thaksin. What goes around comes around

[DP25]

Chance would be a fine thing. I can't even get a visa appointment for my Thai wife despite paying fee + PIN money; there are no vacant appointments for the foreseeable future

Hence why people pay brokers like those who were arrested who take half the money you make working. Everyone knows this happens before they go. They go because it is still a LOT more than working on a farm in Thailand. In a couple years they make enough to buy a nice house in Thailand. It is impossible for a poor Thai to go to America on their own because they will NEVER be granted a visa, this is the only way they can do it. I'm surprised more farang don't pay these people to get their girlfriends to the US instead of going through never ending series of rejections at the Embassy because these guys clearly know how to do it

[dekLA]

so since this company is based in Los Angeles I decided to give em a call. The idiot reception sounded like a second gen thai chick the accents flew when she got nervous. she claims she had no clue whats going so i had to explain to her about the slaves master she is working for then i asked to be transfer to his voice mail. Mr. Mordechai Orian

or as i told the receptionist please transfer me to your master. The voice mail is full so i called back and got another lady on the phone she too claims she has NO CLUE!!! shm. I had to give a little advice about getting a better job and google.

i urge you too to Global Horizons Inc. World Headquarters:

468 North Camden Drive Suite 200

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Telephone: (310) 601-3114