Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
NOV 2 3 2011
CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT
ALEXANDRIA. VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division
No. l:ll-CR-526
(18U.S.C. 371)
Counts 2 & 3: Forced Labor and
TOLAN,
a.k.a. "Murvat Tolan"
a.k.a. "Mirvat Toulan," and (counts 1-13) NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT,
(18U.S.C. 1546(a))
Counts 6 & 7: Unlawful Conduct With
(18U.S.C. 1592) Count 8: Conspiracy to Harbor and Conceal an Alien and to Encourage an Alien to Come
to the United States
(8U.S.C.1324(a)(l)(A)(v)(I)) Counts 9 & 10: Alien Harboring for Commercial Advantage and
Private Financial Gain
INDICTMENT
General Allegations
1.
"Murvat Tolan," also known as "Mirvat Toulan," was a citizen of the Arab Republic of Egypt
and resided at a home on Blackstone Terrace in Vienna, Virginia. MERVAT MOHAMED
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN was an employee of Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in
Washington, D.C. and was the wife of co-defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT.
2. Defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT was a citizen of the Arab
Republic of Egypt and resided at a home on Blackstone Terrace in Vienna, Virginia with his wife
and two sons.
3.
From at least March 2006 to March 2011, the defendants employed a number of
women who were citizens of nations other than the United States, to serve as housemaids and to
nurse and care for the defendants' son, who was a person with a disability and who was unable to
walk without assistance. These women include:
a.
who resided at the defendants' house on Blackstone Terrace and worked for the
defendants from on or about March 25, 2006 to on or about March 16, 2009; and
b.
who was also the daughter of S.S. and who resided at the defendants' house on
Blackstone Terrace and worked for the defendants from on or about October 8,
4.
Citizens of certain foreign countries who seek admission to the United States were
required by United States law to obtain a visa priorto entry. United States visas were issued by
the U.S. Department of State. 5. An A-3 visa was a visa issued by the U.S. Department of State to attendants,
Count One
6.
District of Virginia and elsewhere, the defendants, MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH
TOLAN and NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT, did knowingly and unlawfully combine,
conspire, and agree with each other and persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury to
commit an offense against the United States, namely, to commit the crime of Forced Labor, in
violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1589, and to commit the crime of Visa Fraud,
in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1546(a).
8.
The purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain the labor and services of the workers
and thereby ensure that, for less than the minimum wage, the defendants enjoyed the consistent
labor and services of live-in housemaids and care for their disabled son. The manner and means
b.
c.
the defendants paid the workers less than the amounts stated in the
written employment contracts, paid less than the minimum and prevailing wage for
comparable work, and never paid additional wages for overtime work;
d. to obtain U.S. visas for the workers, the defendants would cause
support of A-3 Visa applications knowing that the workers would never be paid the
wages and salary rates specified in the contracts;
e. the defendants would induce, instruct, solicit, and encourage the
workers to apply for and obtain A-3 United States visas; f. the defendants imposed rules on some of the workers in an effort to
exercise control over them, to isolate them, and to prevent them from making friends and obtaining assistance from anyone who might have helped them to escape from
the defendants, such as:
(1)
a rule that the S.S. and N.C. not open the door for
-5-
(4)
themselves and that S.S. and N.C. inform the defendants whom they
(6)
g.
S.S. and thereby compel S.S. and N.C. to remain with the defendants, by informing
S.S. that:
(1)
house, the police would know and the police would arrest and
imprison S.S.; and
(2)
report S.S. to the police and the police would catch S.S., put S.S. in
jail, and send S.S. back to Indonesia; and
h. the defendants would exercise control over S.S. and N.C. by
confiscating and retaining possession of the workers' passports and the U.S. visas
and U.S. 1-94 documents contained therein.
Overt Acts
9.
In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect the objects thereof, the defendants
and their co-conspirators knowingly performed and caused to be performed overt acts in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere. These acts included the following: a. Defendant MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN paid
a woman whose initials are "NZ" to obtain the labor and services of S.S.
b.
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN picked up S.S. from an airport and drove S.S. to the
defendants' house in Vienna, Virginia.
c. On or about March 25, 2006, defendant MERVAT MOHAMED
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN took possession ofS.S.'s Indonesian passport and retained possession of it until S.S. obtained a new Indonesian passport. d. On approximately three occasions, after S.S. asked defendant
and escorted S.S. to the Indonesian embassy in Washington, D.C. to obtain a new
Indonesian passport and defendant MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH
TOLAN took S.S.'s new passport from S.S. around the same day that S.S. obtained
the new passport from the Indonesian embassy.
f.
and around July 2008, and approximately three times between in and around August
2008 and on or about March 16, 2009, defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK
TALAAT repeatedly ordered S.S. to give defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT massages while he was naked, repeatedly instructed S.S. to masturbate
defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT until he ejaculated, and threatened
g.
would frequently yell at, scold, and berate S.S. for, among other things, moving too
slowly and for attempting to speak to the neighbors.
h. From on or about August 31,2008 to on or about March 16,2009, the
defendantsrequired S.S. to work atleast fifteen hourseach day, seven days perweek, with only a single day off, performing such tasks as cleaning the defendants' home,
i.
about March 16, 2009, the defendants told S.S. that if she ever escaped, the
defendants would call the police, the police would arrest S.S., S.S. would be put in
jail, and S.S. would be sent back to Indonesia.
j. Between on or about April 2006 and on or about March 16, 2009,
a regularbasis and only paid S.S. after S.S. repeatedly requested payment.
-8-
k.
After S.S. was injured (when she fell down stairs located in the
defendants' house while she was attempting to carry the defendants' disabled son), the defendants refused S.S.'s requests for medical treatment.
1. Between in and around April 2006 through on or about March 16,
2009, the defendants paid S.S. amounts that were substantially less than the
$1,132.80 monthly salary defendant MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH
TOLAN had promised to pay in the written contract submitted in support of S.S.'s
visa application.
m. In and around July 2008, when S.S. was preparing to return to
Indonesia to renew her visa and arrange for N.C. to come to the defendants' house, defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT promised S.S. that if she returned
to work for the defendants the defendants would pay S.S. more money and that S.S.
could work at a restaurant the defendants claimed they were planning to open.
n.
SALEH TOLAN instructed S.S. to repeatedly sign her name to a form entitled "Proof
o.
SALEH TOLAN told S.S. to lie to and mislead officials from the U.S. Department
of State that, among other things, she was paid consistent with the terms of the
contract.
p.
SALEH TOLAN told S.S. that if anyone ever asked about S.S.'s wages S.S. should
not tell them the amounts that the defendants' actually paid S.S., instead, S.S. should
SALEH TOLAN gave S.S. contracts to be provided to the Department of State when
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN spoke to S.S. over the telephone, while S.S. was in
Indonesia, about obtaining a U.S. visa. s. On or about August 31, 2008, defendant MERVAT MOHAMED
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN picked up S.S. from Dulles International Airport and
drove her to the defendants' residence in Vienna, Virginia.
t. On or about October 8, 2008, defendant MERVAT MOHAMED
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN picked up N.C. from Dulles International Airport and
drove her to the defendants' residence in Vienna, Virginia. u. On or about October 8, 2008, on the day that N.C. arrived at Dulles
TO-
v.
took possession of N.C.'s Indonesian passport and its contents, including the visa
issued by the U.S. Department of State, and then told N.C. that she, defendant
MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN, was going to keep the passport.
w. From on or about October 8,2008 to in and around December 2008,
the defendants requiredN.C. and S.S. to live in a small room in their basement which contained only one bed, resulting in N.C. having to sleep on some blankets on the
floor next to the bed.
x.
instructed N.C. that N.C. was not allowed to leave the defendants' residence.
y.
2009, the defendants requiredN.C. to work approximately thirteen hours each day,
sometimes more, seven days per week, without a single day off, which left N.C.
exhausted.
z.
for the defendants, defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT began exposing
his erect penis to N.C. and defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT
attempted to grope and fondle N.C.'s breasts multiple times.
11-
bb.
Approximately two to three months after N.C. began working for the
cc.
NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT again attempted to grab N.C. and force N.C.
to perform oral sex, but when N.C. fled defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK
TALAAT shook his fist at N.C. and angrily yelled something to the effect of
"beware."
dd.
tell anyone what defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT had done to N.C.
ee. The defendants paid S.S. andN.C. less than the amounts promised in
the contracts which the defendants had signed and submitted to the U.S. Department
of State.
12-
Forced Labor and Attempted Forced Labor (18 U.S.C. 1589(a), 1594(a))
THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:
10.
Virginia and elsewhere, defendants MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN and
NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT, aiding and abetting one another, did knowingly attempt to
provide and obtain, and did knowingly provide and obtain, the labor and services of the persons listed below, each person set forth below constituting a separate count of this Indictment:
Count
2 Victim
Dates (Around/About)
S.S.
N.C.
by threats of serious harmto, and physical restraint against, that person and anotherperson, by
means of any scheme, plan, and pattern intended to cause the person to believe that, if the person did not perform such labor and services, that person and another person would suffer serious
harm and physical restraint, and by means of the abuse and threatened abuse of law and the legal
process.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1589(a) (2008), 1594(a), and 2.)
-13-
12.
incorporated by reference as if they were fully set forth here. 13. On or about August 1, 2008, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere,
defendants MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN and NABIL ABDEL KHALEK
TALAAT, aiding and abetting one another, did knowingly and willfully aid, abet, counsel, command, induce, and procure another person to utter, use, attempt to use, possess, obtain,
accept, and receive an immigrant visa, namely an A-3 visa, for entry into the United Statesand as
evidence of authorized stay and employment in the United States, knowing that the A-3 visa had
been procured by means of false claims and statements, and to have been otherwiseprocured by
fraud and unlawfully obtained, each visa recipient set forth below constituting a separate count of
this Indictment:
Count 4 5
Visa Recipient
S.S. N.C.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1546(a) and 2.)
14-
14.
Virginia and elsewhere, defendants MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN and
NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT, aiding and abetting one another, attempted to and did
knowingly conceal, remove, confiscate, and possess the actual and purported passport and other
immigration documents of the person listed below, in the course of a violation and with the intent
to violate Title 18, United States Code, Section 1589, and to prevent and restrict and attempt to
prevent and restrict, without lawful authority, the liberty to move and travel of the person listed
below, in order to maintain the labor and services of the person listed below, when the person
listed below was a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, each person set forth below
Dates (Around/About)
S.S. N.C.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1589(a), 1592(a), and 2.)
-15-
Count Eight CONSPIRACY TO CONCEAL AND HARBOR AN ALIEN AND TO INDUCE AN ALIEN TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES
(8U.S.C.1324(a)(l)(A)(v)(I))
THE GRAND JURY FURTHER CHARGES THAT:
16.
is inadmissible and such alien's presence in the United States is unlawful and in violation of law.
18. From in and around March 2006 to on or about November 2, 2011, in Fairfax
County, in the Eastern Districtof Virginia and elsewhere, the defendants, MERVAT
MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN and NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT, knowingly
and unlawfully did conspire with each other and with persons known and unknown to the Grand
Jury: (1) to conceal, harbor, and shield from detection in the defendants' house an alien,
knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact thatsuch alien remained in the United States in
violation of law, and (2) to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United Sates, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, and
residence is and will be in violation of law.
(In violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1324(a)(l)(A)(v)(I) & (B)(i).)
16-
19.
Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the defendants, MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY
SALEH TOLAN and NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT, aiding and abetting one another, for
purposes of commercial advantage and private financial gain, did (1) conceal, harbor, and shield
from detection, and attempted to conceal, harbor, and shield from detection, an alien listed below, in the defendants' house, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that such alien had
come to, entered, and remained in the United States in violation of law, and did (2) encourage
and induce an alien listed below to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, knowing and
in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, and residence is and will be in
violation of law, each alien set forth below constituting a separate count of this Indictment:
Count
9 10 Alien
Dates (Around/About)
S.S.
N.C.
(In violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1324(a)(l)(A)(iii), (iv), and (B)(i),
and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.)
17-
21.
Virginia and elsewhere, in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the
Government of the United States, defendant MERVAT MOHAMED FAWZY SALEH TOLAN
knowingly did make materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations to a Special Agent of the U.S. Department of State, in connection with a criminal investigation, and
each statement and representation set forth below constituting a separate count of this Indictment:
Count 11
False Declaration/Statement
The Truth
sometimes paid S.S. less than $400 per month. S.S. frequently worked after 5:00 p.m. while S.S. was employed by
the defendants. Defendant MERVAT MOHAMED
FAWZY SALEH TOLAN took
S.S. did not work after 5:00 p.m. while S.S. was employed by the
defendants.
13
S.S. had possession of S.S.'s passport the entire time that S.S.
lived at the defendants' residence.
18-
23.
Virginia and elsewhere, in a matter within thejurisdiction of the executive branch of the
Government of the United States, defendant NABIL ABDEL KHALEK TALAAT knowingly did
make materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations to a Special Agent
of the U.S. Department of State, in connection with a criminal investigation, and each statement and representation set forth below constituting a separate countof this Indictment:
Count 14
The Truth
15
S.S. had possession of her own passport the entire time that S.S.
lived at the defendants' residence.
19-
17
injured.
-20-
982(a)(6)(A) of Title 18, and Section 1594(d) of Title 18, the defendants are hereby notified that,
upon conviction of any of the offenses charged in Counts One through Three and Counts Nine
through Eleven of this Indictment, the defendants shall forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal that, among other things: (1) constitutes, or is derived from, or is traceable to,
the proceeds obtained directly or indirectlyfrom the commission of the offenses; or (2) was used
to facilitate, or was intended to be used to facilitate, the commission of the offenses. Pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), as incorporated by Title 18,
United States Code, Section 982(b), the defendants shall forfeit substitute property, if, by any act
or omission of the defendants, the property described above, or any portion thereof, cannot be
located upon the exerciseof due diligence; has been transferred, sold to, or deposited with a third party; has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court; has been substantially diminished in
value; or has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty.
(Pursuantto Title 18, United States Code, Sections 982(a)(6) and 1594(d).)
-21
A TRUE BILL
i'usjant 10ilic IvGovernmcntAct, ' original of this page has been filed
idi:i- joul in Hie Clerk's Office.
FOREPERSON
Neil H. MacBride
fifcA
Michael J. Frank
-22-