Zhu Chen, the owner of Cartersville-based flooring manufacturer Wellmade Industries; his nephew, Jiayi Chen; and Jianjun Lu, a Chinese national, face federal charges of forced labor, conspiracy to commit forced labor, and alien harboring arising from alleged illegal operations at Wellmade Industries.
“The defendants allegedly threatened foreign workers with physical violence, deportation, and crippling debt; forced them to work lengthy shifts; and housed them in overcrowded and dirty residences,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “My office will ensure that predators who traffic at-risk laborers and violate our immigration laws to enrich themselves are investigated, apprehended, and prosecuted.”
“The federal indictment of Zhu Chen, Jiayi Chen, and Jianjun Lu marks an important step forward in our pursuit of justice for the victims in this alleged forced labor scheme,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and our law enforcement partners remain focused on uncovering labor trafficking networks, protecting victims, and holding accountable those who use coercion, threats, and exploitation to profit from vulnerable individuals.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg and the charges: Zhu Chen, together with Jiayi Chen and Jianjun Lu, recruited Chinese nationals through false pretenses to enter the United States on B-1 and L-1 visas to work at Wellmade Industries, a flooring manufacturer in Cartersville, Georgia. Upon the victims’ arrivals into the United States, the defendants allegedly made them work twelve-hour shifts for six days a week in unsafe factory conditions, paid them less than promised, and threatened deportation and the imposition of sizeable debts if they stopped working at the factory. The defendants allegedly also housed aliens in residences owned by Wellmade, knowing those aliens did not have legal status in the United States.
Yesterday, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Zhu Chen, 60, and Jiayi Chen, 31, both of Cartersville, Georgia, and Jianjun Lu, 55, of China, with conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor. Zhu Chen is also charged with alien harboring. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leanne Marek and Jennifer Keen, and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, are prosecuting the case.
