MINNEAPOLIS
A federal judge sentenced a Twin Cities woman to a year in federal prison following her conviction on multiple charges related to the beating, starving the enslaving her nanny in a forced-labor case, according to officials.
Lili Huang, 36 of Woodbury, Minnesota, was sentenced for withholding documents, as well as enslaving, starving and beating a victim in a forced-labor case.
Huang plead guilty May 31, 2017.
In addition to the one year and a day in federal prison, Huang will forfeit her house; and she must pay restitution to her victim totaling $95,944.80.
She must also pay $27,344.73 in restitution paid for third-party victim services. After she completes her federal prison term, she will be deported to China.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating and prosecuting all forms of human trafficking, including forced labor,” said Special Agent in Charge Alex Khu of HSI St. Paul. “Lili Huang’s prison sentence, and the forfeiture of her home and other assets, can never fully restore all that she took from her victim, but it shows that her actions will not be tolerated in our community. “
“With today’s sentencing, Lili Huang must accept the consequences of committing such an egregious crime – not only financial repayment, but also the loss of liberty and property,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in both state and federal court, on Feb. 25, 2016, Huang brought the victim (identified as F.L.) from Shanghai, China, to her home in Woodbury, Minnesota, to work as a nanny and housekeeper.
Although F.L. had previously worked for the defendant in China where she cooked, cleaned and cared for the defendant’s children, the scope of work and the defendant’s treatment of F.L. was significantly different once she arrived in Minnesota.
Huang forced F.L. to work up to 18 hours per day cooking, cleaning, and providing childcare. Huang was very demanding about household tasks and became emotionally and physically abusive toward F.L. if she did not do exactly what was asked, according to officials.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in both state and federal court, on April 23, 2016, due to the repeated physical abuse, F.L. asked Huang to buy her an airplane ticket so she could return home to China.
Instead of buying her a ticket, Huang took F.L.’s passport and told F.L. that she was not leaving. Huang continued to physically abuse F.L. by kicking, punching, grabbing F.L. by her hair, and subjecting her to other abuse.
F.L. documented the physical abuse by using her cellphone to take photographs of the bruises and other injuries.
F.L. also hid clumps of her hair under her mattress, which had been grabbed and torn out by the defendant.
On July 13, 2016, F.L. fled the house after Huang approached her with a large kitchen knife.
Just after midnight on July 14, 2016, F.L. was found wandering the streets several miles from the defendant’s home walking in the direction of the airport.
F.L., who was visibly shaken and crying, was taken to United Hospital for medical treatment. The victim sustained several bruises and injuries to her face, including two black eyes, significant weight loss, and fractures to her sternum and ribs.
Huang plead guilty in Washington County to one felony count of third-degree assault and was sentenced on Aug. 11.