The Evening Sun investigates allegations of modern slavery at two nail salons in Pennsylvania.
Lynda Dieu Phan, 38, and Duc Cao Nguyen, 40, and Justin Phan were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit forced labor trafficking, forced labor and marriage fraud, according to Martin C. Carlson, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Starting in 2000, Lynda Dieu Phan traveled to Vietnam to recruit citizens, and once she brought them to the U.S., forced them to work in her York area nail salons, Carlson said. Fraudulent marriages were arranged so the victims could live in the country.
The women lived with Phan and were helpless, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They had no money, did not speak English and did not have identification or transportation.
If convicted, the three face up to 20 years in prison. As part of the indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is seeking the forfeiture of a home in New Cumberland, a 2008 Toyota Highlander, contents of two bank accounts and more than $130,000 in cash seized at the New Cumberland home.
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