Falls Church, Va., Man Pleads Guilty to Harboring Indonesian Aliens for Financial Gain

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON – Soripada Lubis, a naturalized American citizen originally from Indonesia, pleaded guilty today to harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain, the Justice Department announced. Lubis’ wife, Siti Chadidjah Siregar, a citizen of Indonesia, pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal agents who were investigating the scheme. According to the court documents, since at least 2000, Lubis and Siregar have kept up to 11 undocumented Indonesian women in their crowded basement. During the week, these women would live with and work as housekeepers for wealthy families in Potomac, Md. On the weekends, Lubis and Siregar transported the women back to their basement, where some of the women slept three to a bed. Lubis and Siregar also imposed various rules on the Indonesian women that restrained their freedom of movement and they confiscated the womens’ passports. Lubis and Siregar charged the women $375 per month for "rent" and transportation, plus fees for "taxes" and to send money to Indonesia. During the last five years, Lubis and Siregar made more than $90,000 from their enterprise. When federal agents searched the defendants’ house in October 2008, they questioned Siregar about the Indonesian women. Siregar falsely told the agents that the women had requested that Siregar and Lubis keep their Indonesian passports. In his guilty plea, Lubis admitted that he harbored between six and 24 aliens and that he was a leader and organizer of his enterprise. Lubis and Siregar also agreed to restitution for the Indonesian women. "The Civil ”