Indian-American Couple Get Jail Sentence For Forcing Cousin To Toil At Petrol Pump

An Indian-American couple received a jail sentence from a US court for forcing their young cousin to work at their petrol pump and convenience store for over three years. The couple brought the youngster to the United States promising to get him enrolled in a school.

Harmanpreet Singh, 31, was sentenced to 135 months (11.25 years) in prison and Kulbir Kaur, 43, to 87 months (7.25 years) by the court. They have also been ordered by the court to pay USD 225,210.76 (Rs 1.87 crores approximately) in restitution to their cousin.

The couple has since divorced.

The couple allegedly confiscated the victim’s immigration documents and subjected him to threats, physical force and mental abuse to coerce him to work long hours for minimal pay at the petrol pump.

It was alleged that the couple deprived the victim of the most basic human needs and robbed him of his freedom.

In 2018, the couple enticed the victim, Singh’s cousin, a minor at that time to travel to the US from India with false promises of helping enrol him in school, the Department of Justice said.

After the victim arrived in the US, they took his immigration documents and instead forced him to work at Singh’s store for over three years, between March 2018 and May 2021.

The victim was forced to do cleaning, cooking, stocking and handling the cash register and store records, between 12 and 17 hours a day, nearly every day, for minimal pay, according to the evidence presented during the trial.

The evidence also showed that Singh pulled the victim’s hair, slapped and kicked him when he requested his immigration documents back or tried to leave. He was also threatened with a revolver for trying to take a day off and for trying to leave.