{"id":27013,"date":"2016-10-05T11:36:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T18:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=27013"},"modified":"2016-10-05T11:39:09","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T18:39:09","slug":"feds-17-charged-with-sex-trafficking-thousands-of-thai-women-or-flowers-for-prostitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=27013","title":{"rendered":"Feds: 17 Charged with Sex Trafficking Hundreds of Thai Women or “Flowers” for Prostitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Paul, Minnesota<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"courthouse\"Federal indictment unsealed Tuesday charges 17 members of an international sex trafficking organization with \u00a0transporting hundreds of women into the \u00a0U.S. for prostitution, officials announced Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The charged defendants include 12 Thai nationals and five U.S. nationals.\u00a0 Eight of the 17 charged defendants were arrested yesterday at various locations in Minnesota, California, Illinois, Georgia and Hawaii.\u00a0 One charged defendant was previously arrested in Belgium and four defendants remains at large, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe 17 people charged in this indictment ran a highly sophisticated sex trafficking scheme,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.\u00a0 \u201cThey promised women in Thailand a chance at the American dream, but instead exploited them, coerced them and forced them to live a nightmare.\u00a0 In short, the victims lived like modern day sex slaves.\u00a0 Today\u2019s indictment is our ninth sex trafficking case since 2014, but it is the first that targets an entire organization.\u00a0 We will continue to work closely with our federal and local law enforcement partners to target and dismantle these types of far-reaching organizations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the indictment, which was returned under seal on Sept. 28, 2016, since at least 2009, the criminal organization has recruited \u00a0hundreds of women, which the organization refers to as \u201cflowers,\u201d from Thailand to various locations across the United States, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas and Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n

There they worked as prostitutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once in the United States, victims were allegedly placed in houses of prostitution where they were forced to work long hours \u2013 often all day, every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

The indictment alleges that the women were not allowed to leave the prostitution houses unless accompanied by a member of the criminal organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to allegations in the indictment, which identifies several of the women as victims of human trafficking, the organization often recruited women from impoverished backgrounds who spoke little English.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recruiters exploited these vulnerabilities during the recruitment process, promising the victims access to a better life in the United States in exchange for a debt of between $40,000 and $60,000, which the women were required to pay off through prostitution earnings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis week\u2019s arrests reflect HSI\u2019s global reach and ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal organizations that engage in human trafficking activities,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Alex Khu of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s Homeland Security Investigations \u00a0St. Paul Division \u201cHSI also remains firmly committed to rescuing victims and getting them help they desperately need to begin recovering from the depredations forced on them by these criminals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Advertising and Visas<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As alleged in the indictment, before transporting the women to the U.S., the organization would typically arrange to have the women photographed for purposes of advertising them for sex on websites like backpage.com and eros.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

The organization also encouraged the women to have breast implants in Thailand to make them \u201cmore appealing\u201d to potential sex buyers in the United States and added the cost to the victims\u2019 debt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The organization engaged in widespread visa fraud to transport the women, the indictment alleges.\u00a0 Members of the criminal organization helped in obtaining fraudulent visas and travel documents for the women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also members of the conspiracy used personal information on the women and their families, which they gathered in the course of obtaining the fraudulent documents, to threaten victims who became non-compliant or tried to flee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n