The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that following a two-week trial, a federal jury in Camden, New Jersey, has found a Nigerian couple, Bolaji Bolarinwa, aged 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, aged 67, both residents of Burlington County, New Jersey, guilty of engaging in forced labor and other associated crimes
During the period from December 2015 to October 2016, the couple, aged 67 and 50 respectively, coerced two individuals into domestic labor, including childcare.
Bolaji was convicted on two counts of forced labor, one count of harboring aliens for financial gain, and two counts of document servitude.
Isiaka was convicted on two counts of forced labor and one count of harboring aliens for financial gain. They were acquitted of a second count of harboring aliens for financial gain.
“Once Victim 1 arrived in the United States in December 2015, Bolaji Bolarinwa confiscated her passport and coerced her through threats of physical harm to her and her daughter, verbal abuse, isolation, and constant surveillance to compel her to work every day, around the clock for nearly a year.
“When Victim 2 arrived in the United States in April 2016, Bolaji Bolarinwa similarly confiscated her passport and coerced her to perform household work and childcare but relied more heavily on physical abuse,” the court heard.
Speaking at the end of the trial on April 24, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated, “The defendants deceitfully lured the victims to the United States with promises of benefits but then betrayed them.”
She stressed that the perpetrators seized the victims’ passports, issued threats, inflicted degradation, physical harm, and subjected them to constant surveillance to exploit them for financial gain.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger remarked, “These individuals perpetrated a reprehensible bait-and-switch scheme, enticing victims with false promises of a better life and education in the United States, only to subject them to grueling work hours, physical, and psychological abuse.”
The Department of Justice indicated that a sentencing hearing will be arranged later. Each defendant could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for every forced labor charge and 10 years for harboring aliens.
Bolaji may receive an additional maximum sentence of five years for each count of unlawful document conduct.
Furthermore, they will be required to provide mandatory restitution to the victims and pay fines of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
