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Midlothian residents Zahida Aman, 80, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, Mohammed Rehan Chaudhri, 48, to 10 years in federal prison, and Mohammad Nauman Chaudhri, 55, to five years in federal prison for their roles in conspiring to compel the domestic labor of a woman for more than a decade.
According to federal prosecutors, in 2002, the victim married Aman’s son, who is the brother of Nauman and Rehan Chaudhri, moving into the home of the three family members.
Over the next 12 years, officials say that the three forced her to perform domestic services, verbally assaulting and physically abusing her to coerce her into committing the merciless labor.
Prosecutors said that all three “slapped, kicked, and pushed the victim, even beat her with a wooden board, and, on one occasion, hog-tied her hands and feet and dragged her down the stairs in front of her children.”
They also took the woman’s immigration documents, as she only had temporary immigration status in the US. They then threatened to deport her if she failed to obey their demands and to separate her from her children.
Following a seven-day trial in May last year, all three were convicted of conspiracy to commit forced labor, while Aman was convicted of document servitude and the other two were convicted of forced labor.
"The defendants exploited someone who should have been a loved family member to force her to work in their home for over 14 years,” US Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia said after their conviction. “Forced labor, the modern-day equivalent of slavery, has no place in our country or district, and we will stop at nothing to prosecute those that commit these or similar crimes.
"Let this conviction serve as a light to survivors impacted by labor trafficking and as a deterrent to those conspiring to commit heinous labor trafficking crimes.”
In addition to their prison term, the family was also ordered to pay their victim $250,000 in restitution for back wages and other financial losses incurred during her 12 years of forced labor.
"(They) exploited the victim’s trust and inflicted cruel and inhumane physical and mental abuse on her, all so they could keep her working in their home as their domestic servant,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at the time of the conviction.
“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.”
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