Four accused of enslaving fellow Viets

Bolsavik — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:12:25 +0000

Web site for the defendants' store

A couple and their children are accused of faking marriages to bring slave labor from Vietnam into the U.S. and will face up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands in fine if convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Arizona announced.

Arrested in the case are the owners of the I Do, I Do Wedding Boutique in Flagstaff: Mom Huong Thi “Kelly” McReynolds, 58; Dad James Hartful McReynolds, 60; and sons Joseph Minh McReynolds, 36; and Vincent Minh McReynolds, 32.

Mom and Dad are accused of faking a divorce so they could go to Vietnam and do sham marriages with Vietnamese people. The two sons are accused of doing sham marriages with Vietnamese women too.

Allegedly, the Vietnamese victims were brought to the United States, and then were forced into slavery as indentured servants to the family, toiling away at the home and at the wedding store.

Mom and Dad’s divorce was fake; they still lived together as husband and wife. As to son Joseph, he was living with a U.S. citizen and had children by her, both before and during the sham marriage to his Vietnamese victim.

After the family’s arrest, the U.S. Marshals took over running the bridal store, to make sure brides and grooms are not left high and dry because of the case. (As usual, customers were shocked, shocked I say, to find the nice people they’d been dealing with were accused criminals – says local TV Channel 3 here.)

“The defendants created a climate of fear inside their home and business by carrying firearms, berating the victims and threatening to physically harm them and shame their families in Vietnam,” U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke was quoted in the press release. “They weren’t just exploited for their labor, they were robbed of their basic human dignity.”

The case resulted from a two-year investigation dubbed “Operation Broken Promises,” conducted jointly by ICE, FIB, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

ICE Special Agent Matt Allen accused the McReynolds of “engag[ing] in modern-day slavery to support their business and live an easy life on the backs of these exploited victims.”

Following is the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the district of Arizona:

Four People Indicted for Compelling Vietnamese Nationals into Labor Servitude:

Two-Year Joint Investigation —‘Operation Broken Promises’— Leads to the Arrest of Owners of Flagstaff Wedding Shop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 21, 2011

PHOENIX – Four family members were arrested today and face federal charges for exploiting the labor of immigrant Vietnamese nationals for years at their I Do, I Do Wedding Shop in Flagstaff, Ariz, federal authorities announced.

The two-year joint investigation into the family’s activity – dubbed “Operation Broken Promises” – involved at least five victims, now living throughout the United States. Earlier today federal prosecutors unsealed a five-count indictment and served arrest warrants against Flagstaff residents Huong Thi “Kelly” McReynolds, 58; Joseph Minh McReynolds, 36; Vincent Minh McReynolds, 32; and James Hartful McReynolds, 60. According to the indictment, the McReynolds family brought the victims into the United States by offering them a better life, including promises of happy marriages to United States citizens and educational opportunities. Shortly after the victims arrived in the United States, they discovered that the McReynolds family would not fulfill their promises. The victims instead faced compelled servitude in the McReynolds’ home and business.

Houng McReynolds was charged with all five counts alleged in the Indictment: Count 1 alleges a violation of Conspiring to Engage in Forced Labor, Count 2 alleges a Forced Labor violation, Count 3 alleges a violation of Unlawful Conduct With Respect to Documents in Furtherance of Forced Labor, Count 4 alleges a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Count 5 alleges a violation of Conspiring to Engage in Marriage Fraud. Joseph McReynolds was charged in Counts 1, 2 and 5, Vincent McReynolds was charged in Counts 1 and 2, and James McReynolds was charge in Count 5.

“Huong Thi McReynolds and her family lured these victims to the United States on the promise of the American dream; what the victims got instead was indentured servitude,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. “The defendants created a climate of fear inside their home and business by carrying firearms, berating the victims and threatening to physically harm them and shame their families in Vietnam. They weren’t just exploited for their labor, they were robbed of their basic human dignity.”

“Through fraud and coercion, the McReynolds family engaged in modern-day slavery to support their business and live an easy life on the backs of these exploited victims,” said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Arizona. “Working with our partners at the FBI and Department of Labor, HSI was able to document nearly a decade of abuse perpetrated by this family, which will now face justice for their actions.”

“Today’s arrest of members of the McReynolds family is a culmination of efforts by our federal law enforcement partners.,” said James L. Turgal Jr., FBI Special Agent In Charge, Phoenix. “When individuals are forced and exploited for their labor, it erodes our societies belief in the freedoms afforded to us under the laws of our Nation. The FBI will continue to work with the law enforcement community to address this type of illegal activity and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”

The Indictment alleges that beginning in September 2001, Huong McReynolds brought Vietnamese nationals to Flagstaff, or found them there, where she and her family members housed them and forced them to work seven days a week in the family’s bridal shop—I Do, I Do Bridal. At least until December 2008, Huong McReynolds and her two sons, Joseph and Vincent, compelled the victims to work long hours with little or no pay. Between September 2001 and December 2008, the Vietnamese workers cycled through the bridal shop, with their “employment” ending either by their escaping or being “evicted.”

Members of the McReynolds family, including Huong, Joseph, and James, each married Vietnamese victims. The victims believed they would be entering legitimate marriages with these McReynolds family members. Huong McReynolds shepherded victims through the visa process, to include coaching them prior to their interviews at the consulate. Once the victims were in the United States, Huong McReynolds confiscated their passports and identification, and informed them that they would not only be working at her home, but also long hours in their bridal shop. Despite their marriages to the victims, Huong McReynolds and James McReynolds, who divorced in 1996, continued to live together as husband and wife. Both before and after Joseph McReynolds’ marriage to one of the Vietnamese victims, he was living with a U.S. citizen, with whom he fathered children both before and during his fraudulent marriage.

Regarding the I Do, I Do Wedding Shop and other real property in Flagstaff, the United States District Court has issued a Restraining Order to preserve that property, and to prevent the removal or sale of such assets prior to the resolution of the criminal forfeiture proceedings included in the Indictment. The United States Marshal will act as receiver for the property. The phone number for the Wedding Shop will remain operational. If customers have immediate questions, they can contact the shop, however, the Marshals Service will be reaching out to contact existing customers.

A conviction for a violation of Conspiring to Engage in Forced Labor carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for a violation of Forced Labor carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for Unlawful Conduct With Respect to Documents in Furtherance of Forced Labor carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act carries a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison, $10,000 or both. Finally, a conviction for a violation of Conspiring to Engage in Marriage Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, the assigned District Court Judge, Judge Snow, will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. Judge Snow, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI, the FBI, the United States Department of Labor, and the United States Marshal’s Service. The prosecution is being handled by Krissa Lanham and Josh Patrick Parecki, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-11-8133-PCT-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2011-154(McReynolds)

Viet exchange student messed up immigration, faces deportation

Bolsavik — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:08:19 +0000

A Vietnamese exchange student who married a U.S. citizen nonetheless is facing deportation because, as her husband says, she “tripped up” on the immigration process and is now in jail, reports KSTP-TV5 here.

Hoa Nguyen came to the U.S. on a student visa ten years ago, attending Luther College in Iowa where she met her future husband, Dan Hanson.

After graduating in 2003, the two of them moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul, where Hoa completed her Master’s in French Literature at the University of Minnesota.

In November 2008, they got married. Then they traveled to Vietnam and had their wedding there too.

All was well and good until they tried to enter the U.S. again and somebody noted that Hoa had not been going to school and so had overstayed her student visa, reports the Star-Tribune here. This is known as being “out of status” as tons and tons of other Vietnamese exchange students understand.

But she was allowed to re-enter the U.S. anyway, and she was given a court date to appear.

Then she missed that court date. So now she’s in jail waiting to be deported.

Her husband, friends and roommates have set up a web site called FreeHoa.org, where Hanson passionately pleads for his wife’s release.

Hanson says Hoa was confused about the court date and he, Hanson, wasn’t able to help her out because he didn’t know about any court date in the first place.

Hanson is also saying on the FreeHoa.org web site that the two of them are only now starting the process of getting Hoa a green card. Which means they didn’t do it the day after they got married. Which makes Hoa Nguyen the one and only person in her situation to act that way.

The web site does not say what kind of court hearing it was. The fact that Hoa is now in jail facing deportation leads the Bolsavik to speculate that maybe it was an order to show cause why Hoa should not be “removed” (from the U.S. that is). Possibly for being out of status.

That Hoa did not hire an army of lawyers to respond to the order to show cause (again, it’s only a speculation that that’s what the hearing’s for), that she didn’t tell Hanson about it, and that she managed to miss the whole thing, makes for a real head-scratcher.

But anyway, leaving aside these technicalities, it’s quite touching to see Hoa’s husband and friends moving heaven and earth to get her out of the hole she’s dug.

You wish your naturalization were like this

Bolsavik — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:10:00 +0000

A little item on a web site from Youngstown, Ohio caught the Bolsavik’s eyes.

A naturalization ceremony with, what, eight people? (Including one Viet, Tam Diep Nguyen, by the way.)

Eight?!?

Where are the rest of the fuh-ree-ners?

In comparison, after the jump are some photos the Bolsavik took of a naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles in September 2007.

Here’s part of the line outside the Convention Center:

Here’s the crowd making its way upstairs.

There are seven blocks of chairs like this. Third from right, with a scout’s hat on his lap, is a Vietnamese, Sergeant Kiet Nguyen.

Bolsavik.com » immigration

Four accused of enslaving fellow Viets

Four People Indicted for Compelling Vietnamese Nationals into Labor Servitude:

Viet exchange student messed up immigration, faces deportation

You wish your naturalization were like this