CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge sentenced a woman to more than a decade in prison over a year after she was found guilty of a forced labor charge.
On Wednesday, Thuy Tien Luong, 38, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison by a judge for the U.S. District Court's Western District of North Carolina. Court records show that Luong coerced an employee into performing forced labor, created a fictitious debt contract for the employee, and physically assaulted the person.
Luong operated the Luxury Nails Salon in Davidson. The victim was a naturalized U.S. citizen that previously lived in Vietnam and spoke little English, according to court records.
Court records say the crime took place from October 2016 to June 2018 as Luong obtained labor from the victim by means of force and threats.
The investigation began in 2018 when Luong and a man were arrested and accused of human trafficking. These charges changed as more was learned of the situation.
The victim was employed as a nail technician and was subjected to physical, emotional, and verbal torment by Luong, according to court documents.
Luong beat and scarred the victim with nail salon tools, including cuticle clippers, nail files, and brooms.
The victim was told by Luong that reputation-ruining information would be revealed to her family if she did not comply with Luong's orders, according to court documents.
Luong even created a false debt contract for the victim that stated they needed to work off $180 thousand from the salon.
This situation went on until a violent assault by Luong was reported to the Davidson Police Department in 2018.
Luong was federally indicted for a forced labor charge in March 2020. She was found guilty of the charge in January 2021.
Now, over a year later, Luong has been sentenced for her charge. She is also required to pay $75 thousand in restitution.
“Luong’s egregious criminal conduct is a form of human trafficking that not only exploited our nation’s labor laws but also subjected the victim to unspeakable harm, including physical and mental abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronnie Martinez, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in North Carolina and South Carolina.