Rich NY woman locked up immigrant servant in mansion closet

As reported by Reuters, the well-to-do owner of a New York mansion violated immigration laws by coercing a virtual house slave into overstaying her visa, says a federal complaint. The illegal immigrant was also coerced to stay in a closet.

Mansion landlord Annie George, 39, from Rexford, N.Y., allegedly forced her servant to work for 17 hours a day, seven days per week, paying the woman on average 85 cents per hour during a five-year period.

George's $30 million, 12-acre estate is home to a 30,000ft2 mansion with 24-karat gold plated ceilings, 34 rooms, 10 bedrooms and a helicopter pad, the complaint says. Yet George coerced her servant, who is identified by her initials "V.M.," to stay in a walk-in closet.

Annie George and her deceased husband, who died in a 2009 plane crash, lured V.M. to be their servant by proffering her $1,000 per month -- considerably more than V.M. was earning working for another family, reports the Associated Press.

However, the Georges paid V.M. a mere $29,000 for over five years of work, meaning the Georges now owe V.M. over $200,000 in back pay, says a U.S. Department of Labour investigation. The Georges, who come from the same province of India as V.M., also persuaded the maid to overstay her visa, alleges the complaint.

Immigration agents removed V.M. from George's home in 2011, after a hint from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. The former servant's present whereabouts were not revealed.