One of six people accused of luring hundreds of Thai farm workers to Hawaii on false promises of lucrative contracts appeared in federal court this afternoon.
39 year-old Sam Wongsesanit pled not guilty to charges of conspiring to hold 400 Thai nationals in a condition of forced labor from May of 2004 to September of 2005.
He was released from federal custody today after posting a $50,000 dollar bond.
"I think this is the beginning of some bigger investigations to be quite honest. I think this is going to shed some light on the way that we bring workers into the United States and I think it's a good start," says Melissa Vincenty, Attorney for Victims.
The human trafficking scheme was allegedly orchestrated by four employees of labor recruiting company "Global Horizons Manpower" and two Thailand-based recruiters.
