Two dozen conspirators forced workers to pay fees for travel and housing while forcing them to work for little to no pay
Summary
- Initially, the worker was told they would be working on a blueberry farm, but was sent to a corn-farming operation instead.
- “There was a lot of abuse for little pay,” the worker added.
- They were excluded from the National Labor Relations Act passed in 1935, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
- A grand jury indicted the 24 conspirators in a federal court in Waycross, Georgia on counts including forced labor, mail fraud, witness tampering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Arraignments in the case were scheduled for 21 December and 6 January at the Southern District of Georgia federal courthouse in Waycross, Georgia.