Human trafficking case hits Douglas, Casper


By TOM MORTON

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 9:06 PM MDT

Well-spoken and well-educated, Filipino nationals working at several Douglas hotels and the Ramada Plaza Riverside Casper greeted guests with smiles and professional hospitality.

But Giant Labor Solutions, which held their contracts with the hotels, offered no such dignified treatment in return, according Mary Wilson, owner of the Holiday Inn Express and Sleep Inn in Douglas.

"They wanted to get away from [Giant], but they didn't have the money," Wilson said.

That's because Giant Labor Solutions treated them as "modern-day slaves," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City, Mo.

Last week, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transported nine of the workers in Douglas -- six at the Holiday Inn Express and Sleep Inn, and three from two other hotels -- and another nine in Casper to Kansas City where they were placed in protective custody to avoid physical retaliation, Wilson said.

"They're being treated well," she said. "They were taken more for witness purposes and not because they're in trouble."

Instead, the trouble centers on Giant Labor Solutions and two other companies, and eight Uzbekistan nationals and four others, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A 45-count federal grand jury indictment charged them with racketeering, forced labor trafficking, immigration violations, identity theft, visa fraud, extortion, money laundering and other violations in Wyoming and 13 other states. Convictions on many of the charges carry penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment, and up to $500,000 in fines.

"This RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] indictment alleges an extensive and profitable criminal enterprise in which hundreds of illegal aliens were employed at hotels and other businesses across the country," said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Whitworth.

"The defendants allegedly used false information to acquire fraudulent work visas for these foreign nationals. Many of their employees were allegedly victims of human trafficking who were coerced to work in violation of the terms of their visa without proper pay and under the threat of deportation. The defendants also required them to reside together in crowded, substandard and overpriced apartments," Whitworth said.

The Wyoming hotels themselves are not under investigation.

This criminal enterprise allegedly used the Internet to recruit foreign workers legally in the U.S. and from overseas to pay up to $5,000 for fees supposedly to secure visas or to extend visas about to expire, according to the indictment.

After the workers signed up with Giant Labor Solutions and the other two firms -- Five Star Cleaning LLC and Crystal Management Inc. -- the companies' managers would allow the visas to expire. That caused the foreign workers to become illegal aliens and rendered them incapable of finding other work, according to the indictment. The scheme involved violations of numerous immigration and labor laws, according to the indictment.

These firms would approach hotels, casinos, contractors and other employers with the offer of a labor pool in exchange for a single payment to the firms for wages, housing and other necessities, according to the indictment.

But Giant Labor Solutions deducted money from the workers' paychecks for transportation, uniform fees and exorbitant rent, leaving them with little if nothing to show for their work, according to the indictment. Giant and the other firms would threaten the workers who wanted to leave with physical harm, deportation or legal action, according to the indictment.

Douglas and Casper

Wilson saw that with the six Filipino employees at the Holiday Inn Express and Sleep Inn in Douglas, she said.

Giant Labor Solutions approached her last fall with the offer of workers, and it seemed like a good program, Wilson said.

The Filipinos had college degrees in computer science, business and marketing; and they knew their way around a hotel, she said.

"They were very nice and knew the service industry well," Wilson said. "All spoke English well."

Giant Labor Solutions, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as nice, she said.

The firm put all six of her employees in a two-bedroom apartment without kitchen utensils or bedding, and deducted the rent from the money paid by Wilson's hotels, she said.

For transportation, Giant gave them a junker van with no heat, and deducted money for that, too, she said.

Meanwhile, Giant was promising the workers it was resolving visa issues, but that never happened, Wilson said.

Giant had no corporate representatives in Wyoming, and she had a tough time trying to contact it in Kansas City, she said.

Meanwhile, Douglas residents helped them through a food bank; the Zonta International Women's Organization sponsored them for a Christmas project; and Wilson found them better housing, she said.

In Casper, Ramada manager Nazir Memon learned of Giant Labor Solutions in January through business connections he had in Kansas City, and like Wilson, he thought he could find a pool of good workers, he said.

Nearly all the contract workers at the Ramada were Filipino except for one who probably was from Puerto Rico, Memon said. All spoke English and many had college degrees, he added.

Most of them worked in housekeeping, but some worked at the front desk and one worked in the marketing department, he said.

The Ramada provided the workers with rooms and meals, he said.

Memon became suspicious of the deal when workers' compensation claims weren't being paid, and Giant could not provide documentation for the employees, he said.

So he terminated the contract with Giant Labor Solutions two days before the workers were taken to Kansas City last week, he said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City is not releasing any information about these or other workers, its spokesman Don Ledford said Wednesday.

Eight of the 12 individual defendants have been arrested and have had their initial appearances in federal court, and some are being detained without bond, Ledford said.

Other than that, his office won't be releasing much information soon, he said.

"At this point, any information about what happened is part of a grand jury investigation and a law enforcement investigation," Ledford said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at tom.morton@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMorton/blog.
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