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Former Moroccan Diplomat Accused of Visa Fraud

Reuters

   NEW YORK - Prosecutorsin New York have charged a former Moroccan
   ambassador to theUnited Nations and others with visa fraud, accusing
   them ofbringing workers to the United States using
   fakeemploymentcontracts and then exploiting them.

   AbdeslamJaidi, his ex-wife Maria Luisa Estrella and herbrother Ramon
   Singson brought in more than 10 workers from thePhilippines and Morocco
   since about 2006, according to theindictment filed in federal court in
   New York.

   The visa applications said the workers would be employed
   asadministrative or technical staff at the consulate or MoroccanU.N.
   mission, and some included fake employment contracts, itsaid.

   Instead, the workers were used as personal drivers,domestichelpers and
   farmhands, the indictment said.

   They were paid low wages--sometimes less than $500 a month--and worked
   long hours without time off. Some had to hand overtheir passports, it
   also said.

   "This case sends a strong message that diplomatic immunitydoes not
   equal impunity," said Martina Vandenberg, head oftheWashington-based
   Human Trafficking Legal Center."Even high-ranking diplomats can be
   called to account ifthere are allegations of visa fraud and
   exploitation."

   Other cases

   In recent years, other foreign diplomats in the United States have
   beenaccusedof wrongdoinginconnection with thetreatment of their
   employees.

   Earlier this year, the U.S. government suspended new visasfor domestic
   employees of Malawian officials after one ofthe country'sdiplomats
   failed to pay $1.1 million in damages to a woman shetrafficked in the
   United States.

   Supporters have warned that domestic workers employed bydiplomats are
   vulnerable to abuses and even human traffickingbecause their visas
   chain them to specific employers.

   Being tied to a specific employer means they cannot switchto a better
   job,and if they quit, they typically must leave thecountry.

   The charges, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court inWhite Plains,
   N.Y., were conspiracy to commit offenses anddefraud andconspiracy to
   induce aliens to come to, enter andreside in the country.

   The crimes carry maximum sentences of five and 10 years inprison,
   respectively.

   Estrella, 60, was arrested in March, whileJaidi, 82, wholives in Rabat,
   Morocco, and Singson, 55, who lives in Manila,are at large.
   Estrella'slawyers declined to comment.

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