Folsom man pleads guilty to visa fraud involving woman who worked 7 days a week for him
A Folsom man pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of visa fraud in a case authorities said involved an Indonesian woman who worked as long as 16 hours a day with little compensation, federal court documents show.
Marcus Taslim, 70, was arrested in November, about five months after Folsom police intervened to help the woman escape from him, an indictment filed in federal court in Sacramento showed.
He was not charged with violations of law in relation to the woman, but the plea deal filed with the court on Monday showed that he agreed to pay her as much as $40,000 in restitution.
A statement of facts that was part of the plea agreement said that the woman, who was not named, worked for Taslim caring for his mother from 2016 to 2018 in Indonesia. When his mother decided to move to the United States, Taslim first asked the woman to apply for a visa saying she was an employee of his company who won a prize that included a trip to the United States.
That application was denied, so he asked the woman to file a second one, saying she was coming to the U.S. for just one month to care for his elderly mother. He provided about $2,000 as proof that she would be paid for the month, the plea deal shows, and the woman, Taslim and Taslim’s mother traveled to the U.S. in December 2018.
But as soon as the consular officer was sent proof of the payment, Taslim demanded his money back from the woman, and instead paid her the equivalent of about $500 per month, the agreement said. He confiscated the woman’s passport and placed it in a locked safe. She worked 7 days a week from as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. for about six months, the agreement showed.
She continued to work there until June 2019, when she told Taslim she was tired and needed a break, the agreement shows. He refused to allow her to take time off, so the woman called a friend for help. The friend called Folsom police, who intervened in June 2019 so that she could leave, the agreement said.
Taslim is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on May 12. He faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
