The ex-wife of a former Ridgefield restaurateur pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Portland to financially benefiting from forced labor, visa fraud conspiracy and filing a false federal income tax return, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tanya Jumroon, also known as Thunyarax Phatanakit Jumroon, 59, of Beaverton, Ore., waived indictment by a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court in Portland, and instead entered guilty pleas to the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the press release states.
Jumroon, like her ex-husband, Paul Jumroon, is a naturalized citizen from Thailand. The Jumroons formerly owned Teriyaki Thai, 109 S. 65th Ave., Ste. 103 in Ridgefield, and Thai Curry in a Hurry, 1235 McVey Ave., Ste. A in Lake Oswego, Ore.
Both restaurants were sold and have been under new management since 2016.
Tanya Jumroon faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for financially benefiting from forced labor, five years in prison for visa fraud conspiracy and three years in prison for filing a false tax return. Her sentencing is set for Oct. 24 before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown. Paul Jumroon pleaded guilty in February to forced labor, visa fraud conspiracy and filing a false federal income tax return. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 18, also before Brown, the press release says.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Jumroons fraudulently obtained E-2 visas to bring Thai nationals to the U.S. to provide cheap labor at the restaurants, according to the plea agreements, admissions in court and other court documents.
After the victims arrived, Paul Jumroon used inflated travel expenses, debt manipulation, threats of deportation, serious financial and reputational harm, verbal abuse and control over identification documents to force them to work 12 hours a day, six to seven days a week, for minimal pay. Tanya Jumroon reportedly witnessed the mistreatment of two of the victims, and she benefitted financially from the victims’ forced labor, the press release states.
Tanya Jumroon agreed to pay the four victims a combined $131,391.95 in restitution as part of her guilty plea.
She also admitted to filing multiple false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service by failing to report cash income earned from the restaurants between 2012 and 2015. She’s agreed to pay the IRS $120,384, according to the press release.
“Human trafficking schemes are seldom carried out by a single person. Tanya Jumroon profited off of her then-husband’s actions while turning a blind eye,” said U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams in a written statement. “In too many of these cases, we later learn that someone close by could have taken action to stop the abuse and intimidation of others and did not.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hannah Horsley and Scott Bradford of the District of Oregon, and Lindsey Roberson of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, are prosecuting the case.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation division and Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, with the assistance of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and Portland Police Bureau.
