Dann

Mabelle de la Rosa Dann (“Dann”) was charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud (count one), visa fraud (count two), forced labor (count three), unlawful conduct regarding documents in furtherance of servitude (count four), and harboring an illegal alien for the purpose of private financial gain (count five). All charges arose out of conduct involving her live-in nanny and housekeeper, Zoraida Peña Canal (“Peña Canal”).

Dann, an American citizen of Peruvian descent, arranged for Peña Canal to travel from her native Peru to the United States in 2006 and enter under a fraudulently-obtained visa to serve as a nanny and housekeeper. Dann was going through a divorce at the time, was unemployed, and was not receiving child support. Once Peña Canal arrived, Dann kept her passport, forbade her from speaking with anyone outside the home, and failed to pay her for two years, although she often promised that she would. She repeatedly threatened to send Peña Canal back to Peru; and yet when Peña Canal agreed to go home, Dann told her that she would owe her $8,000 because she had only worked off $7,000 of the $15,000 worth of “expenses” that Dann had paid on her behalf. Dann…