Image via WikipediaPosted at 12/14/2010 6:39 PM | Updated as of 12/15/2010 12:47 PM
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - After pleading guilty to forcing at least 39 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to work under threat of arrest and deportation, the Filipino owners of a labor contracting company in Boca Raton, Florida were sentenced to maximum prison time allowed by law.
Sophia Manuel, owner of Quality Staffing Corporation Services and the mastermind of a human trafficking operation, was sentenced to 78 months.
Her husband, Alfonso Baldonado, who helped her, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.
After Manuel and Baldonado get out of jail, they will be on a 3-year probation.
It was an emotional victory for the abused workers.
“It’s only right that [they] were sentenced to the maximum jail time because of how they abused us. There are other victims out there that have not spoken yet,” said Jofer Trinos.
This is also considered a landmark case. Manuel is the first visa fraud case successfully prosecuted in the state of Florida.
The Filipinos came to the US as guest workers in 2007 and 2008. After paying up $5,000 in recruitment and placement fees, their American dream turned into a nightmare.
Twenty-eight of them were cramped inside one house. Many of them became jobless, hungry and deep in debt in the Philippines.
For 4 months, they said they slept like canned sardines — more than 6 of them shared each room. Some even slept on the kitchen and garage floors.
“We said enough was enough. So we ran away and told authorities we needed some help,” Jhoanna Pio said.
The workers’ lawyer, former Florida Assistant Attorney General Marissa de Guzman-Cobb said, “With the bad economy back home, the sense of desperation makes it easy for predators like this couple to prey on our kababayans.”
De Guzman-Cobb added, “When something sounds good to be true — always ask, ‘What’s the catch’?”
T-Visas are now being processed by the Department of Homeland Security for these victims of human trafficking. This will allow them to work legally in the US and earn their citizenship to be able to petition for their immediate family to come to America in the near future.
The court is expected to give the workers restitution for a million dollars or more. Balitang America
Sophia Manuel, owner of Quality Staffing Corporation Services and the mastermind of a human trafficking operation, was sentenced to 78 months.
Her husband, Alfonso Baldonado, who helped her, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.
After Manuel and Baldonado get out of jail, they will be on a 3-year probation.
It was an emotional victory for the abused workers.
“It’s only right that [they] were sentenced to the maximum jail time because of how they abused us. There are other victims out there that have not spoken yet,” said Jofer Trinos.
This is also considered a landmark case. Manuel is the first visa fraud case successfully prosecuted in the state of Florida.
The Filipinos came to the US as guest workers in 2007 and 2008. After paying up $5,000 in recruitment and placement fees, their American dream turned into a nightmare.
Twenty-eight of them were cramped inside one house. Many of them became jobless, hungry and deep in debt in the Philippines.
For 4 months, they said they slept like canned sardines — more than 6 of them shared each room. Some even slept on the kitchen and garage floors.
“We said enough was enough. So we ran away and told authorities we needed some help,” Jhoanna Pio said.
The workers’ lawyer, former Florida Assistant Attorney General Marissa de Guzman-Cobb said, “With the bad economy back home, the sense of desperation makes it easy for predators like this couple to prey on our kababayans.”
De Guzman-Cobb added, “When something sounds good to be true — always ask, ‘What’s the catch’?”
T-Visas are now being processed by the Department of Homeland Security for these victims of human trafficking. This will allow them to work legally in the US and earn their citizenship to be able to petition for their immediate family to come to America in the near future.
The court is expected to give the workers restitution for a million dollars or more. Balitang America
Source:.abs-cbnnews.com
Pinoy couple meted maximum prison time for human trafficking | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features
No comments:
Post a Comment