The leader of a fraud ring that authorities think allowed more than 1,000 Indonesian immigrants to file bogus asylum claims also admitted that he was starting an international sex-trafficking business before his arrest disrupted those plans.
In a plea bargain struck Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Hans Gouw, 54, of Fairfax Station admitted he was guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and money laundering.
An associate of Gouw’s, Indonesian citizen and resident Harjanto Komala, also pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of sex-trafficking conspiracy.
Authorities uncovered the scheme before any women were brought to the United States. A source familiar with the case said plans were under way to bring as many as 40 women. Court documents indicate that three of the women caught up in the potential trafficking were younger than 18.
According to court records, Komala recruited women in Indonesia ages 15 to 29 for work as prostitutes and dancers at strip clubs in Northern Virginia and throughout the East Coast.
The sex-trafficking charges stem from an investigation into Gouw’s work as an immigration broker. Gouw and 25 others were charged in November with operating an immigration-fraud ring that specialized in helping Indonesians illegally obtain asylum or work visas. Of those charged, 18 have pleaded guilty, seven are fugitives and one is awaiting trial.
Gouw was a director of the Chinese Indonesian American Society, which advertised in newspapers catering to the Indonesian community. Gouw and his associates charged $2,000 or more to assist his customers, authorities said.
Many of Gouw’s asylum applicants were coached to tell authorities that they had been beaten or raped by Muslims in Indonesia because they were either ethnic Chinese or Christians. Numerous applicants gave the same accounts of torture word for word, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty, whose office is prosecuting the cases, called Gouw the “ringleader of a one-stop shop for a vast number of fraudulent government benefit and identification documents.”
Marcy Forman, director of investigations for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said, “We’re seeing more and more of these type cases every day. Every time someone attempts to obtain benefits by deception, it degrades the entire immigration system.”
Attorneys for Gouw and Komala, who will be sentenced in July, did not return calls yesterday seeking comment.
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