They would also receive visas. Life in cities like Chicago would be rosy, they were told, and they would be able to help support their families back home.
Law enforcement authorities on Thursday announced federal sex-trafficking conspiracy charges against 21 people, part of what they described as one of the most elaborate and extensive sex-trafficking operations they had seen.
The operation had gone on for at least eight years, netted tens of millions of dollars, and involved hundreds of women who were shuttled among American cities, sometimes every few weeks, the officials said. According to the eight-count indictment, the operation was intricate for its organization. Among those indicted were the people owed the bondage debts of the women brought from Bangkok. Still others served as money launderers, putting cash returns into bank accounts, and facilitators, who took care of details like flying the women from city to city.
While still in Thailand, the women were usually told that they would work as prostitutes, the indictment said, but the terms of the deals shifted substantially once they arrived in the United States. Threats were made.
Bondage debts suddenly skyrocketed. The authorities said the women were kept isolated and were not allowed to leave the prostitution houses without being accompanied by one of the ring organizers. The hours of prostitution often ran all day, every day. Officials said some of the women are now being helped by agencies to find housing and other assistance. But their immigration status in this country is uncertain; many were brought here with visas obtained using false information, the authorities said, including fictitious occupations and phony backgrounds.
