A federal grand jury in Kansas indicted eight defendants for their alleged roles in a forced labor conspiracy that victimized numerous minors who, between 2000 and 2012, worked in various foodservice and other businesses in Kansas and around the U.S., officials stated.
The indictment alleges that from 2000 through 2012, the defendants participated in running an organization called the United Nation of Islam (UNOI), an organization founded by the now-deceased Royall Jenkins.
The UNOI is alleged to have subjected multiple minors employed at UNOI-operated businesses in Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Ohio and elsewhere, to forced labor.
The indictment charges the following individuals with conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor:
- Kaaba Majeed, 47, Jonesboro, GA
- Yunus Rassoul , 36, Cape Coral, FL
- James Staton, 59, Fayetteville, NC
- Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 40, Lawrenceville, GA
- Randolph Rodney Hadley, 46 Fairburn, GA
- Jacelyn Greenwell, 42, Severn, MD
- Etenia Kinard, 46, Waldorf, MD
- Dana Peach, 57, Clinton, MD
The indictment alleges that over the course of more than a decade, the defendants coerced the victims into physically demanding labor at various UNOI-owned businesses around the United States.
The defendants allegedly used coercive tactics, such as separating victims from their families; withholding food; abusing victims physically and verbally; subjecting victims to crowded living conditions; psychological manipulation; degrading treatment; isolating victims and limiting their ability to interact with anyone outside of UNOI; and suggesting to victims that those who left UNOI met tragic consequences.
Although the victims were school-aged, it is alleged the defendants did not provide them with an adequate or legitimate education.
The defendants will be arraigned at a later date in Kansas City, Kansas. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.