GUILTY US shuts down sex trafficking ring targeting Thai women, 2016 *arrest*

[shadowraiths]

US prosecutors say they have shut down an international sex trafficking ring in an operation stretching from Thailand to the US.
Twelve Thai nationals and five Americans were charged with illegally transporting hundreds of women from Thailand.

Their victims were forced to work as prostitutes across the US.

A US lawyer said the ring promised poor women a bright future, then "forced them to live a nightmare".

The women were driven into prostitution in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and other cities, to pay off "bondage debts" of between $40,000 and $60,000 (£31,000 and £47,000).

"The 17 people charged in this indictment ran a highly sophisticated sex trafficking scheme," US lawyer Andrew Luger, of the district of Minnesota, said in a statement.​

link

 

[FrostOwl]

February 2021:
Thai Woman Extradited To U.S., Indicted For Role In International Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

 

[ifindedout]

Guilty plea in November 2022

Thai woman pleads guilty to her role in international sex trafficking conspiracy | Internal Revenue Service

November 29, 2022 — Sumalee Intarathong has pleaded guilty to her role in a large-scale international Thai sex trafficking organization, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

www.irs.gov

Date: November 29, 2022

St. Paul, MN — Sumalee Intarathong has pleaded guilty to her role in a large-scale international Thai sex trafficking organization, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

"Today's guilty plea marks the final conviction in a years-long international sex trafficking prosecution resulting in 37 convictions," said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. "Ms. Intarathong, worked directly with others at the highest levels in the organization to victimize hundreds of vulnerable women for her own financial gain."

According to court documents, the criminal organization conspired to make money by compelling hundreds of women from Bangkok, Thailand, to engage in commercial sex acts in various cities across the United States. Before her arrest in Belgium on August 5, 2016, Intarathong served as a boss/trafficker for the organization. Each trafficked victim was "owned" by Intarathong or another boss/trafficker, until the victim could repay an exorbitant "bondage debt" of between $40,000 and $60,000. Intarathong and other co-conspirators arranged for victims to travel from Thailand to the United States and placed the victims in a house of prostitution somewhere in the United States.

According to court documents, Intarathong and other co-conspirators in the organization engaged in widespread visa fraud to facilitate the international transportation of the victims. Members of the criminal organization assisted the victims in obtaining fraudulent visas and travel documents. As a part of obtaining visa documents, members of the criminal conspiracy gathered personal information from the victims, including the location of the victims' families in Thailand. This information was later used to threaten victims who became non-compliant or tried to flee the organization in the United States.

According to court documents, the organization dealt primarily in cash and engaged in rampant and sophisticated money laundering in order to promote and conceal illegal profits. Throughout the course of the conspiracy the criminal organization has moved tens of millions of dollars in illegal proceeds from the United States to Thailand and elsewhere.

"For more than seven years, Ms. Intarathong had been responsible for sex trafficking across the nation," said Justin Campbell, IRS CI Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Field Office. "And like many criminals she tried to hide her ill-gotten gains through legitimate purchases – such as vehicles and real estate. Fortunately for American taxpayers, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents are uniquely qualified to follow complex financial transactions and uncover the source of the illegal funds."

"I'm proud of the HSI agents and law enforcement partners who helped bring Intarathong to justice," said HSI Saint Paul Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt. "Intarathong's heinous acts victimized countless individuals and their families. HSI will continue the work necessary to dismantle and destroy these human trafficking organizations while providing care and support to the victims."

Intarathong was arrested in Belgium in August 2016 and remained in custody until she was extradited to the United States in February 2021. Intarathong pleaded guilty earlier today before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

Sentenced in April 2023 (mostly a rehash of above story; only the paragraphs relevant to sentencing are quoted below):

Thai woman sentenced for her role in international sex trafficking conspiracy | Internal Revenue Service

April 24, 2023 — Sumalee Intarathong also known as Alice Spencer Warren has been sentenced for her role in a large-scale international Thai sex trafficking organization, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

www.irs.gov

Date: April 24, 2023

Sumalee Intarathong also known as Alice Spencer Warren has been sentenced for her role in a large-scale international Thai sex trafficking organization, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

[...]

Intarathong was arrested in Belgium in August 2016 and remained in custody there until she was extradited to the United States in February 2021. On November 29, 2022, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Intarathong, the last of the 38 defendants sentenced in the trafficking scheme, was sentenced today before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank to time served since her arrest in 2016 and $500,000 in restitution to the victims. In addition, Intarathong agreed to be removed from the United States to Belgium or Thailand and will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out the Court's order.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, Homeland Security Investigations, Diplomatic Security Service, St. Paul Police Department, Anoka County Sheriff's Office, and Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff's Office, with the support of the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2). The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance in securing the defendant's extradition from Belgium.