"Texas based Nigerian couple pleads guilty to 'enslaving' nanny from Nigeria . .

Chudi and Sandra Nsobundu, the Texas based Nigerian couple who kept kept a Nigerian woman enslaved in their home for two years while she worked as their maid and nanny have pleaded guilty at a Houston federal courtroom. The couple pleaded guilty to one count each, just days before jury selection was set to begin. . . Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruben R. Perez said: "This couple enslaved this nanny for over two years and for two years this nanny did not get paid a single cent for her work, "She thought that 20,000 Nigerian nairas - the equivalent of $100 - was going to be deposited in her account per month, but she didn't even get that." . . The couple admitted they kept the nanny's passport and threatened harm if she did not cook, clean and tend to their five children. The victim told investigators she was forced to sleep on the floor, bathe in cold water, eat leftovers and work nearly 20-hour shifts seven days a week from September 2013 to October 2015. . After hearing more than an hour of barely audible and tearful testimony from the couple, Senior U.S.
District Judge Nancy F. Atlas said she believed the defendants knowingly intended to commit the acts and that they understood they were forgoing their rights to a jury trial and appeals. . . Perez, who prosecuted the case, said the victim - who falls under protected status in the United States under an act of Congress - came from abject poverty, did not speak English and had minimal education. She remains in the country but was not present in court. . . Chudy Nsobundu, 57, pleaded guilty to visa fraud, admitting he fraudulently submitted an online application for a tourist visa by pretending to be the nanny. He stated falsely on the application that the woman was married, was his sister, was 20 years older than she really was, and that she would be traveling to the United States for her niece's graduation. In exchange for their pleas, the couple will not have to forfeit their home in Cinco Ranch. The government, however,has asked that they pay their former employee $129,000 in backwages, to comply with American federal law."