The operators of a labor leasing company and others have been indicted on
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges relating to labor
racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in
14 states, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri
announced Wednesday, May 27.
Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, of Mission, Kansas, operated Giant Labor
Solutions in Kansas City, Missouri, and other businesses, according to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office. The firms signed labor leasing contracts with clients in the
hotel, casino and construction industries in 14 states.
However, Askarkhodjaev didn’t pay required employment taxes or overtime and
employed workers not legally authorized to work in the U.S., according to the
office.
Giant Labor’s workforce was mainly foreign nationals, the office
stated.
The company used false information for H-2B work visas and charged workers
fees ranging from $400 to $3,000 and allegedly threatened workers with a $5,000
fee if they returned to their home country, according to the office.
Workers were also forced to pay the company for transportation and for
company apartments. And allegations in the indictment say workers, or other
people, were threatened with harm if the worker did not work.
“This RICO indictment alleges an extensive and profitable criminal enterprise
in which hundreds of illegal aliens were employed at hotels and other businesses
across the country,” said Matt Whitworth, acting U.S. attorney for the Western
District of Missouri. “The defendants allegedly used false information to
acquire fraudulent work visas for these foreign nationals.
“Many of their employees were allegedly victims of human trafficking who were
coerced to work in violation of the terms of their visa without proper pay and
under the threat of deportation. The defendants also required them to reside
together in crowded, substandard and overpriced apartments.”
In addition to Askarkhodjaev, others charged in the indictment included:
Nodir Yunusov, 22, and Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan residing
in Mission; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, and Nodirbek Abdoollayev, 27, both citizens of
Uzbekistan residing in Kansas City; Viorel Simon, 27, and Alexandru Frumasache,
23, both citizens of Moldova residing in Kansas City, Kansas; Kristin Dougherty,
49, of Ellisville, Missouri; Andrew Cole, 53, of St. Charles, Missouri;
Abdukakhar Azizkhodjaev, 49, a citizen of Uzbekistan residing in Panama City,
Florida; and Sandjar Agzamov, 27, and Jakhongir Kakhkharov, 29, both citizens of
Uzbekistan who recently left the U.S. and are living abroad.
Three companies were also named in the indictment: Giant Labor Solutions;
Crystal Management Inc., headquartered in Mission; and Five Star Cleaning,
headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
—Staffing Industry Analysts
Workforce
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