On Friday, March 22, 2019, following a three-week trial, a
federal jury in Brooklyn returned a guilty verdict on all five counts against
Dan Zhong, the head of U.S. operations of Chinese Liaoning Rilin Construction
(Group) Co. Ltd. (also known as China Rilin) and U.S.-based subsidiaries, including
U.S. Rilin, who was formerly a diplomat of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC). The counts of conviction were
conspiracy to provide forced labor, providing and benefitting from forced
labor, concealing passports and immigration documents in connection with forced
labor (also known as document servitude), conspiracy to commit alien smuggling
and conspiracy to commit visa fraud. The
jury also found as a sentencing enhancement that Zhong engaged in the alien smuggling
for commercial gain. Today, the jury
separately concluded that six properties where the forced labor victims worked,
including a high rise building in midtown Manhattan and a mansion on Long
Island, are forfeitable. Zhong’s
co-defendant in the indictment, Landong Wang, is a fugitive, believed to be in
the PRC.
When he is sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M.
Donnelly, Zhong faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Angel M.
Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI), New York, and Timothy W. Dumas, Special
Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office, Diplomatic Security Service, U.S.
Department of State (DSS), announced the verdict.
“Unlike Chinese Communist elites, Americans do not practice,
condone or tolerate forced labor,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “Mr. Zhong, a former long-time PRC diplomat,
believed he could oppress and coerce Chinese construction workers in New York,
forcing some to work for years without pay under the threat of physical harm
and financial ruin. His crimes not only
violate our laws, they contradict the values of this country.” Mr. Donoghue expressed his appreciation to
the Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions and the FBI’s Field Office
in Newark, New Jersey, for their assistance on the case.
“These are human beings, forced to work seven days a week
with no pay and forced to live in squalid housing with dozens of others,
trapped by guards who would hunt them down and drag them back if they escaped,”
stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “This didn’t take place in a
foreign country, this happened here in Manhattan, on Long Island and New
Jersey. No human being deserves to be
treated this way, in any country. Mr.
Zhong and others may have believed they could get away with human trafficking
and forced labor in this country because of the Chinese government’s disregard
of the laws where it operates, but they will now face justice for their
crimes.”
“With the hopes of attaining the proverbial American dream,
victims were brought to the U.S. by Zhong, only to be forced to live in
cramped, unsafe conditions, with locks on the doors so they could not escape,”
stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Melendez.
“Many worked 14 hour days for years, submitting to threats of financial
ruin to their families or threats of violence.
Forced labor simply put is modern day slavery and this investigation
shed light on the willingness of criminals to exploit people for personal financial
gain. We will seek prosecution of anyone who looks to increase their profit by
forcing people to work with no pay.”
“This case illustrates the global reach of the Diplomatic
Security Service and the effectiveness of federal agency collaboration to stop
criminals from illegally obtaining U.S. visas to exploit foreign workers,”
stated DSS Special Agent in Charge Dumas.
“We’re committed to investigating visa fraud committed by U.S. business
operators and others who facilitate criminal visa applications at U.S.
Embassies and Consulates around the world.”
The evidence at trial established that Zhong’s company
performed construction work on a variety of PRC government facilities in the
United States, including the Permanent Mission of the PRC to the United
Nations, the Embassy of the PRC to the United States, and PRC Consulates
General in the United States (collectively, the PRC Facilities). Initially, Zhong, and his co-conspirators
required workers to turn over substantial “security deposits,” including the
deeds to their family homes that were subject to forfeiture if they refused to
work as a key element of “debt bondage” contracts the workers signed. Once in the United States, the workers also
had to surrender their passports to the conspirators. The workers were forced to put in 14-hour
days, seven days a week, for years without receiving any pay. Twenty or more workers were housed in one and
two-family houses in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Inspections of some of these houses revealed numerous fire code
violations, as well as illegal locks to prevent the workers from escaping. Through this scheme, Zhong and his
co-conspirators attempted to prevent escape by the workers, at times using
violent force. Several workers testified
about their families being threatened and forced out of their homes in the PRC
by Rilin. One worker testified that
after escaping and being re-captured, he was warned that his legs would be
broken if he again tried to escape. More
recently, Zhong and his co-conspirators abused the legal process in the PRC by
photographing a worker and his wife in front of a pile of cash totaling RMB1
million belonging to Rilin and then obtaining from a PRC court an enforcement
order against the worker’s wife for RMB1 million after the worker escaped.
Although the visa applications prepared for the workers
provided that the workers would work only at PRC diplomatic facilities, the
evidence at trial established that Zhong and his co-conspirators forced them to
work on private construction projects, including a commercial building in
midtown Manhattan and private residences in Queens and elsewhere on Long
Island. Zhong also used these workers
as personal servants, preparing meals, chauffeuring him, and performing yard
work.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s
National Security and Cybercrime Section.
Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon, Ian C.
Richardson and Craig R. Heeren are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance
provided by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Morris of the Office’s Civil
Division, which is responsible for the forfeiture aspect of the case.
The Defendant:
DAN ZHONG
Age: 49
Livingston, New Jersey
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-614 (AMD)
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