Two Georgia Men and Chinese National Indicted for Forced Labor Offenses in Open Federal Case
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment in an ongoing, unresolved case charging three Cartersville residents with forced labor and related offenses.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 9:29 a.m. ET
According to an official Department of Justice press release (Release Number: ) issued on August 12, 2026, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment charging Zhu Chen, 60, and Jiayi Chen, 31, both U.S. citizens, and Jianjun Lu, 55, a Chinese national, with forced labor, conspiracy to commit forced labor, and alien harboring.
The matter is currently at the charging stage and remains open and undecided before the court. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to court documents referenced in the official record, the three Cartersville, Georgia, residents recruited Chinese nationals through false pretenses to enter the United States on B-1 and L-1 visas to work at Wellmade Industries, a flooring manufacturer in Georgia. Upon arrival in the United States, the defendants allegedly kept the workers' immigration documents and required them to work 12-hour shifts, six days a week, at the Wellmade Industries factory in Cartersville.
Court records further allege that the defendants paid the victims less than promised, withheld overtime and health benefits, housed them in company-owned residences without legal status under their visas, and subjected them to verbal, psychological, and physical abuse, alongside threats of deportation and sizeable debts.
All three defendants are with conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor, and Zhu Chen is also with alien harboring. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Division, U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia, and Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta.
The case is being investigated by HSI Dalton, Georgia; Bartow County Sheriff's Office Special Operations; and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the ongoing case.
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