Five indicted for forcing Lankan woman into slave labour

A federal grand jury in Dallas has indicted five defendants, including two Plano residents, alleging they conspired to force a Sri Lankan woman into slave labor.

Nagham Hassan Burgotti, 30, and her husband, Adam Mohammad Barguthi, 40, of Plano were arrested on Friday on felony charges of forced labor conspiracy and related counts. On Monday, they pleaded not guilty to the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez.

Although the federal grand jury returned the seven-count indictment on Dec. 1, 2010, the indictment remained sealed until Tuesday. The indictment also charges Mohammad Arefah Abuwad, 40, who was arrested on Friday by federal agents in Houston, where he remains in custody. His wife, Lowana Mohammad Awad, 36, and another defendant, Huthaifa Ahmad Albarghuthi, 66, have not been arrested.

All five of the defendants hold dual U.S. and Jordanian citizenships.

The grand jury indictment lists the victim as “S.H.” and charges that the defendants “did knowingly combine, conspire, cofederate and agree with each other and with others known and unknown to the grand jury to provide and obtain the labor and services of S.H. … by means of a scheme, plan and pattern intended to cause S.H. to believe that, if S.H. did not perform such labor or services, that S.H. would suffer serious harm.”

This practice is also known today as human trafficking, a modern-day version of slavery.

Frisco resident Venita Benitez organizes programs and events for her organization GSRD Human Trafficking Awareness to educate the community about modern-day slavery, including throughout prominent neighborhoods.

“I can’t tell how you hurt I am to learn that right next door, in Plano, there was a victim of this crime,” she said. “We must not continue to be blindsided and afraid to learn the truth about human trafficking in our world today.”

Benitez said that human traffickers often make false promises of work and good pay to attract domestic workers, including nannies and maids, and then force or coerce victims to work around the clock with little or no pay in the face of abuse with no chance to leave.

“They are organized criminals who deceive their victims and enslave and trade human beings for money,” Benitez said, continuing that sometimes they “lure mail-order brides into their homes and physically, mentally and sexually abuse them. They are soulless people.”

Benitez and partners with Damon Crow, Chef DC, to donate proceeds from catering events to fight against the crime of human trafficking. Information about her organization can be found at
The felony charges, which are related to forced labor and harboring, say the crimes began around late 2006 and continued until about April 2009 in North Texas and elsewhere. The indictment not only alleges threats of serious harm through abuse, it also claims the defendants knew they were harboring an illegal alien.

The indictment says the five defendants “did conceal, harbor and shield S.H. from detection in their residence and elsewhere for the purpose of private financial gain.”

The seventh count in the indictment is for document servitude aiding and abetting. In it, the charge goes back to January 2007, claiming the defendants kept S.H.’s passport and immigration documents with the intent to prevent her from leaving or traveling while she was “a victim of a severe form of trafficking.”

Upon convinction, a forfeiture notice in the indictment would require the defendants to forfeit any property or proceeds that can be traced back to their respective offenses. This property includes a home on Meadow Bend in Arlington and two Tobacco Row businesses in west Plano.

According to a release Tuesday from the United States Department of Justice, each defendant could face up to 20 years in prison and maximum $250,000 fine if convicted for the count of forced labor conspiracy. Each count of conspiracy to harbor for financial gain carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. In addition, each defendant is charged with one count of document servitude, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The indictment is an accusation from the federal grand jury, so the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Errin Martin and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Christopher Lomax are prosecuting the case, courier-gazette reports.