Rabat - Abdelkader and Hnia Amal, a Moroccan couple from Alexandria, Virginia, who are charged with human trafficking, plead guilt on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Rabat – Abdelkader and Hnia Amal, a Moroccan couple from Alexandria, Virginia, who are charged with human trafficking, plead guilt on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The defendants, who are husband and wife, concealed, harbored and shielded from detection a Moroccan national, identified in court records as F.H., in their home in Alexandria, Virginia, from December 2007 until December 2010. F.H. served as a domestic servant within the home of the defendants,” according to the DOJ announcement.
After reportedly confessing to illegally bringing the Moroccan woman, F. H, into the U.S. under “false premises,” they could face a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $200,000.
The DOJ added, “The guilty plea stemmed from evidence that Abdelkader and Hnia Amal unlawfully brought a woman into the United States from Morocco and then kept the woman in their home as a domestic servant for three years.”
The couple brought their alleged victim from Morocco to work in Hania’s cleaning company, and promised to pay her $400 per week. However, the woman said she was only paid $9,000 over a period of three years.
The defendants only made two payments that amounted to $8,500 towards F. H’s apartment in Morocco in October 2010 and January 2011.
The Amals are due to appear in court on July 11. They agreed to pay the alleged victim $52,700 in restitution.
Edited by Liz Yaslik
