3 Filipinos arrested in Long Beach for ‘slavery’

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LOS ANGELES—Three Filipinos were charged here with allegedly recruiting workers in the Philippines for residential elder care facilities in Long Beach in exchange for payment of the recruits’ travel expenses and continued stay in the U.S. A joint investigation by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resulted in the arrest of Rodolfo Demafeliz, 39, his assistant, Rolleta Riazon, 28, both Philippine nationals, and Evelyn Pelayo, 51, a resident of Long Beach on criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court here.

Demafeliz and Riazon, who were arrested last week prior to boarding a flight to Manila, are accused of transporting the victims to the United States as part of the harboring scheme. The victims worked in two residences in Long Beach that Pelayo owns and operated as elderly care and boarding facilities. Pelayo is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles pending the continuance of her detention hearing this week.

Demafeliz and Riazon are also being held at the same facility. They were scheduled to make their initial appearance in U.S. District Court last weekend. The two elder care homes were closed down yesterday, following execution of federal search warrants.
According to a report filed by Salvador Hernandez, assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, and Robert Schoch, special agent in charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in Los Angeles, Demafeliz, a Taekwondo martial arts instructor, recruited the victims in the Philippines purportedly as “students” in American Taekwondo tournaments here.

Demafeliz obtained visas for the victims and provided them with limited martial arts training to make the visas appear legitimate. However, there is no evidence that any of the victims ever participated in any tournament in the U.S. Instead, the victims were allegedly forced to work nearly 24 hours a day and told it would take several years for them to repay their travel debts.

During the course of the investigation, agents identified three victims who were working at the two elderly care facilities; three additional workers were found during the execution of the search warrants. The FBI/ICE report also stated that Pelayo threatened to contact police and immigration officials if the victims tried to escape. Pelayo also instructed the victims to lie about the number of hours they worked when questioned by Department of Social Services officials, who monitor the homes for the elderly.

“It’s sickening how our own people abuse their own kababayans who just want to partake of what America can offer us poor Filipinos,” says an elderly Filipino woman, who claims to know Pelayo by name. “Instead of helping them, they treat them as virtual slaves.” Her husband agrees, “I believe this is a cultural cancer.” The couple, 15-year residents of Long Beach, requests anonymity.
“The luring of persons into the United States on the promise of legitimate work and a better life, only to be held in what is, essentially, modern-day slavery is, regrettably, taking place in our community,” said Hernandez in a statement. “The charges allege that these victims were forced into debt bondage under threat of arrest or deportation, so the defendants could profit. The Human Trafficking Task Force in Los Angeles will continue its efforts to dismantle trafficking organizations and raise awareness of the problem within the law enforcement community and among the public.”

“Forced servitude is an unconscionable crime and, as this case shows, it can take many forms,” added Robert Schoch. “Holding people against their will and making them work under inhumane conditions amounts to modern day slavery. ICE is working closely with the FBI and its other law enforcement partners to ensure that crimes like these do not go unchecked or unpunished.”
In addition to the FBI and ICE, multiple state agencies assisted with the operation, including the Community Care Licensing, the Long Term Care Ombudsman, Adult Protective Services, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and the Long Beach Police Department.

A total of 10 elderly patients were rescued from the two elder care homes and moved to legitimate facilities. The FBI’s Victim Assistance Program will be working with the residents and families to find alternative elder care facilities. A registered nurse was available at each facility to monitor the medical care of each person. Meantime, the victims have been placed in various shelters.