Former Vienna Residents Indicted for Forced Labor

Two Egyptian citizens were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for forcing two Indonesian women to work well below minimum wage as domestic servants in their home.

Mervat Mohamed Fawzy Saleh Tolan, 52, and Nabil Abdel Khalek Talaat, 55, a married couple who lived in Vienna while employing the servants, are accused of forcing the women to work long hours, often for less than $400 a month.

Both women were forced to engage in sexual conduct with the husband, Talaat, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, the couple was able to obtain special visas for the women because of their connection with Middle Eastern embassies. The women were isolated, the indictment said, prohibited from communicating with neighbors or speaking anything but Arabic. The women were allegedly not permitted to leave the home unless they were accompanied by a member of the family, and their passports were confiscated.

The couple threatened at least one of them with arrest or imprisonment if they left, the indictment said.

The two are not in custody, said Peter Carr, a public information officer at the United States Attorney’s Office. The couple will be apprehended and arraigned on the 17 charges in Wednesday's indictment — among them, visa fraud, unlawful conduct with respect to documents, conspiracy to house nd hide an alien, alien harboring, false statements, conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor — before a trial date is set, he said. 

If convicted, the couple would each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for each forced labor count; 10 years in prison for count of visa fraud and conspiracy to harbor and conceal an alien; and a maximum of five years in prison for each count of unlawful conduct, false statements and conspiracy to commit forced labor.

This case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State’s newly formed Human Trafficking Unit, with assistance from the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force and the Diplomatic Security Service’s Victims’ Resource Advocacy Program, a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Terwilliger will prosecute the case.

The Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force was founded in 2004 as a way to pool  federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies — along non-profit and nongovernmental resources — to fight human trafficking and related crimes.

“Forced labor is a modern form of indentured servitude,” said Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This couple is accused of turning their home into a prison for their hired help, forcing them to engage in both hard labor and sexual conduct. We’re grateful to our partners at the Diplomatic Security Service and the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force for their dedication to pursuing human traffickers and rescuing their victims.

In recent months, Northern Virginia leaders have spoken out repeatedly against human trafficking, saying it's more common in the area than many people may think.

Between 4 million and 27 million people around the world are trapped in modern-day slavery, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said earlier this year. In June, that allow enforcement agencies to give tougher penalties to those convicted of human trafficking.

Senate Bill 1453 requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to advise law enforcement agencies of human trafficking issues; House Bill 2190 requires the Department of Social Services to develop a service plan for victims of human trafficking; and House Bill 1893 reclassifies trafficking of a minor as a class two felony.

Arlington County has