Sunday, March 25, 2012

Feds charge three Kansas City-area companies with labor trafficking - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The indictments fall under the Racketeer Influence and CorruptOrganizations (RICO) Act, Whitworth, acting U.S. attorneyy for the Western District of said ina release. The companies named in the indictmeng are ofKansas City, of Mission and of Overland Park. The 45-count indictment also names Abrorkhodjsa Askarkhodjaev, 30, who owns or controlsx the three companies, Nodir Yunusov, 22, and Rustamjon 21, all Uzbekistan citizens living in Ilkham Fazilov, 44, and Nodirbek 27, Uzbekistan citizens living in Kansaas City; Viorel Simon, 27, and Alexandru 23, Moldova citizens living in Kansas City, Kan.; Kristin Dougherty, 49, of Ellisville, Mo.; Andrew 53, of St. Charles, Mo.
; Abdukakhar Azizkhodjaev, 49, an Uzbekistan citizehn living inPanama City, Fla.; and Sandjar 27, and Jakhongir Kakhkharov, 29, Uzbekistan citizensd who recently left the United Statea and are living abroad. “This RICO indictment allegews an extensive and profitabl e criminal enterprise in which hundreda of illegal aliens were employed at hotele and other businesses acrossthe country,” Whitworth said in the release. “Th defendants allegedly used false information to acquirer fraudulent work visas for theseforeigbn nationals.
Many of their employees were allegedlg victims of human traffickinhg who were coerced to work in violation of the terms of thei r visa without proper pay and under the threat of The defendants also required them to reside together in substandard andoverpriced apartments.” Many of the workers were employefd at hotels in the Kansas City area and in Mo., Whitworth said. The indictment allegesx that sinceJanuary 2001, Askarkhodjaec has been the leader of a criminal enterprise and directesd the rest of the co-defendants in carryinf out unlawful activities, including forcexd labor trafficking, identity theft, harboring illegal aliens, mail conspiracy to commit money laundering, transporting illega aliens, visa fraud, extortion, interstated travel in aid of wire fraud and inducing the illegal entry of foreigm nationals.
The indictment also contain s aforfeiture allegation, which would require the defendant to forfeit to the government all interest in any property involved in the alleged offenses and all propertu derived from the proceeds obtained from the allegedr offenses, including a monetary judgment of at least $6 million, Whitworth said in the Those found guilty of racketeering can be sentencedr to as much as 20 yeara in prison, fined as much as $250,0000 or both. According to federal those found guilty of forced labor mail fraud, money laundering, extortion and wire frauc also may be subjecty to a sentence of as much as 20 yearas in federal prison without parole.

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