ambassador to the United Nations and others with visa fraud, accusing
them of bringing workers to the United States using
fake employment contracts and then exploiting them.
Abdeslam Jaidi, his ex-wife Maria Luisa Estrella and her brother Ramon Singson brought in more than 10 workers from the Philippines and Morocco since about 2006, according to the indictment filed in federal court in New York.
The
visa applications said the workers would be employed as administrative
or technical staff at the consulate or Moroccan U.N. mission, and some
included fake employment contracts, it said.
Instead, the workers were used as personal drivers, domestic helpers and farmhands, the indictment said.
They
were paid low wages — sometimes less than $500 a month — and worked
long hours without time off. Some had to hand over their passports, it
also said.
"This
case sends a strong message that diplomatic immunity does not equal
impunity," said Martina Vandenberg, head of the Washington-based Human
Trafficking Legal Center. "Even high-ranking diplomats can be called to
account if there are allegations of visa fraud and exploitation."
Other cases
In
recent years, other foreign diplomats in the United States have
been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the treatment of their
employees.
Earlier
this year, the U.S. government suspended new visas for domestic
employees of Malawian officials after one of the country's diplomats
failed to pay $1.1 million in damages to a woman she trafficked in the
United States.
Supporters
have warned that domestic workers employed by diplomats are vulnerable
to abuses and even human trafficking because their visas chain them to
specific employers.
Being tied to a specific employer means they cannot switch to a better job, and if they quit, they typically must leave the country.
The
charges, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y.,
were conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud and conspiracy to induce
aliens to come to, enter and reside in the country.
The crimes carry maximum sentences of five and 10 years in prison, respectively.
Estrella,
60, was arrested in March, while Jaidi, 82, who lives in Rabat,
Morocco, and Singson, 55, who lives in Manila, are at large.
Estrella's lawyers declined to comment.
