Simi Valley couple faces federal charges for forced labor, other crimes
A Simi Valley couple was arrested Wednesday on charges that they abused asylum-seeking immigrants from Latin America by forcing them to do domestic labor around the couple's house and hand over money they earned elsewhere, federal officials said.
A 50-year-old woman and her 45-year-old husband were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor and four counts of forced labor, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The woman was separately charged with four counts of trafficking with respect to forced labor, three counts of giving immigration documents to unauthorized persons, one count of encouraging and inducing illegal entry, and one count of witness tampering.
During appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, a federal magistrate judge ordered them detained and scheduled a trial April 8.
As described in a federal indictment, the couple smuggled people into the United States and exploited them for financial gain, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said in a news release. In concert with other unnamed parties, the couple allegedly recruited Latin Americans for more than two years from November 2021 until at least March of last year to provide forced labor at their Simi Valley home, federal officials said.
Neither of them has entered a plea, according to federal court records on the case. The woman was identified as a naturalized U.S. citizen from Peru and her husband as a non-citizen Peruvian immigrant.
A lawyer listed in court filings as the woman's attorney declined to comment Thursday.
She allegedly facilitated the immigrants' entry into the country with financial assistance and travel arrangements. After arrival, the woman helped them get transportation to California and eventually to the couple's house in Simi Valley.
The immigrants were required to provide child care, sleep in the same bedroom as the couple's minor child with special needs and perform domestic labor, according to the 24-page indictment. They received no pay and were told by the Simi Valley couple that their work was performed in exchange for rent at the home, officials said.
The defendants allegedly charged them a fee for being smuggled into the U.S., which they would repay by obtaining jobs outside the home.
The woman is suspected of helping the foreign nationals get fraudulent Social Security cards and permanent resident cards for job searches. She would then bring them to a check cashing outlet, where they could cash their checks to pay the couple, the news release said.
If convicted, the woman and man face a statutory maximum sentence of five years for conspiracy to commit forced labor and a statutory maximum of 20 years for each charge of forced labor. The woman faces additional maximum penalties numbering decades if convicted.
Kathleen Wilson covers courts, mental health and local government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Simi Valley couple faces federal charges for forced labor, more
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