BANG KOK: Thai restaurateur Paul Jumroon, 54, of Depoe Bay pleaded guilty Wednesday to forced labor, visa fraud conspiracy and filing a false federal income tax return in U.S. District Court in Portland, officials announced. Jumroon, also known as Veraphon Phatanakitjumroon, a naturalized American citizen originally from Thailand, fraudulently obtained E-2 visas to bring Thai nationals into the United States to provide cheap labor at his restaurants, according to a Justice Department press release. Those restaurants include Curry in a Hurry in Lake Oswego and Teriyaki Thai in Ridgefield, Wash. E-2 visas are granted to foreign nationals who invest substantial money in a U.S. business and direct its operations and to employees who have special qualifications that make their services essential to that business.
Between 2011 and 2014, Jumroon brought four people to the United States to work at his restaurants, then used inflated travel expenses, debt manipulation, threats of deportation, verbal abuse and control over identification documents to compel them to work 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week, for minimal pay, according to the release. Jumroon faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for forced labor, five years in prison for visa fraud conspiracy, and three years in prison for filing a false tax return. His sentencing is scheduled for May 24 before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown.
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