NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA (TIP) : An Indian American couple has been convicted of forcing an immigrant relative to provide labor and services at their store, and gas station including working as the cashier, preparing food, cleaning and managing store records.
Harmanpreet Singh, 30, and Kulbir Kaur, 43, were convicted by a federal jury last Friday in connection with their operation of a gas station and convenience store in North Chesterfield, Virginia, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 8. Singh and Kaur face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and mandatory restitution for the forced labor charge.
The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that, between March 2018 and May 2021, the couple forced Singh’s cousin to provide labor and services at Singh’s store, including working as the cashier, preparing food, cleaning, and managing store records.
Singh and Kaur used various coercive means, including confiscating the victim’s immigration documents and subjecting the victim to physical abuse, threats of force and other serious harm and, at times, degrading living conditions, to compel him to work extensive hours for minimal pay.
In 2018, the defendants enticed the victim, then a minor, to travel to the United States with false promises of helping enroll him in school, the release stated.
After arriving in the United States, the defendants took his immigration documents and immediately put him to work. They also left the victim at the store to sleep in a back office for days at a time on multiple occasions.
They limited his access to food, refused to provide medical care or education, used surveillance equipment to monitor the victim both at the store and in their home, refused his requests to return to India, and made him overstay his visa.
The evidence further showed that Singh pulled the victim’s hair, slapped and kicked him when he requested his immigration documents back and tried to leave, and on three different occasions threatened the victim with a revolver for trying to take a day off and for trying to leave.
“These defendants engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victim with false promises of an education in the United States and instead subjecting him to grueling hours, degrading living conditions, and a litany of mental and physical abuse,” said US.
Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“The defendants exploited the victim’s trust and his desire to attend school in the United States, and then inflicted physical and mental abuse against him, all so they could keep him working for their profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Human trafficking is a disgraceful and unacceptable crime, and this verdict should send the very clear message that the Justice Department will investigate and vigorously prosecute these cases to hold human traffickers accountable and bring justice to their victims.”