A mother and daughter from Tigard, Oregon, were arraigned in federal court after they were indicted for using force and threats to compel three victims, including a minor victim, to work for little or no pay in an adult foster care home.
Marie Gertrude Jean Valmont, 66, and Yolandita Marie Andre, 30, have been charged in a seven-count indictment with conspiring with one another to commit forced labour, committing forced labour, and benefitting from forced labour.
According to court documents, Valmont and Andre, the owners and operators of Velida’s Care Home in Tigard, began their trafficking scheme in 2023 when they convinced two adults and a child from Haiti to travel to the United States to work at Velida’s.
In early September 2023, all three victims arrived in Portland and were immediately taken to Velida’s, where they were forced to work long, difficult hours for little or no pay. Valmont and Andre are also alleged to have taken their victims’ immigration paperwork and forbade them from leaving Velida’s under any circumstances.
Valmont is further alleged to have thrown items at the victims, threatened to send them back to Haiti and have them killed, and threatened to call the police and make false theft allegations against them.
In the summer of 2023, authorities with the Oregon Department of Justice were alerted to the situation at Velida’s following the minor victim’s disclosure of her indentured servitude to a paediatrician. Shortly after, the minor victim was removed from Velida’s and placed in a foster home. On Thursday, the FBI arrested Valmont and Andre at Velida’s without incident.
Both defendants made their first appearances in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. They were arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and released pending further court proceedings.
Committing and benefitting from forced labour are both punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison per count of conviction.
