In Oklahoma, the owners of a bed-and-breakfast are under federal investigation for allegedly keeping a Cambodian woman as an indentured servant after paying for her passing to the United States.
Norman inn being investigated after report of Cambodian woman held as indentured servant
Last week, FBI agents raided the Whispering Pines Inn in Norman after claims surfaced that they were keeping an employee as an indentured servant. Investigators say the owners, Rany and Thavory Kchao, payed $8,000 for the woman to come to the United States from Cambodia, and in return she would work off her debt.
The woman reportedly worked as a housekeeper at the Whispering Pines Inn for the past two years, working 14 to 15 hour days, seven days a week, and never received a paycheck. The Kchaos did not let her have access to her immigration documents and did not allow her to leave the grounds of the inn on her own.
According to court documents, the woman was also subjected to mental and physical abuse, and forced to give a child up for adoption after she became pregnant and gave birth while working at the bed and breakfast.
The Kchaos told the woman it would take her three years to pay off her debt. But by the U.S. Department of Labor's calculation, even if she was making minimum wage, the woman should have received approximately $80,000 based on the hours she worked.
The investigation began when a former employee of the bed-and-breakfast reported that another housekeeper was not being paid, forced to work long hours, and appeared to be afraid of the Kchaos.
The FBI is building a possible human trafficking case against the Kchaos. Investigators recently searched the property, seizing a number of items include immigration, employment and adoption documents.
More here: Norman Bed And Breakfast Owner Accused Of Keeping An Indentured Servant