Three Men Indicted for Forced Labor at Georgia Flooring Plant, Victims Recruited From China on False Pretenses
On August 12, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury had indicted three men on charges of conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor, involving victims recruited from China to work in the United States on false pretenses. The defendants are Zhu Chen, 60, and Jiayi Chen, 31, both U.S. citizens residing in Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia, and Jianjun Lu, 55, a Chinese national also residing in Cartersville.
The indictment alleges that Zhu Chen owns Wellmade Industries, a Cartersville flooring manufacturer, and that Jiayi Chen is his nephew. All three are charged with conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor, and Zhu Chen is also charged with alien harboring. The maximum penalty for forced labor is 20 years in prison.
According to the indictment, the defendants recruited Chinese nationals through false pretenses to enter the United States on B-1 and L-1 visas. On arrival, the victims' immigration documents were taken from them; they were made to work 12-hour shifts, six days a week, in unsafe conditions; they were paid less than promised, with no overtime or health benefits; and they were threatened with deportation and the imposition of sizeable debts and subjected to verbal, psychological and physical abuse. The victims were housed in Wellmade-owned residences, although they lacked legal status under their visas.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Dalton, Georgia, the Bartow County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia, and HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank announced the indictment. An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部总部大楼（资料图）。（Coolcaesar 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building in Washington (file photo). (Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
