BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — The owner of a flooring company in Bartow County is being accused of trafficking hundreds of people from China to work at his manufacturing plant. Federal agents raided the plant on Wednesday after allegations that he had trafficked those workers for cheap labor.
Channel 2′s Tom Jones tracked down several Chinese nationals who work at Wellmade Industries who say they were treated fairly and paid what they were supposed to be paid.
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One worker said he and the dozens of other workers who live with him weren’t mistreated like others alleged.
“The owner pay,” them man who says he was brought here from China a month ago to work for Wellmade told Jones.
“They pay you well? They treat you well?” Jones asked.
“No problems,” he responded.
But other Chinese nationals had problems getting paid and with working conditions at Wellmade.
Agents arrested owner Zhu Chen and Jiayi Chen. Both are accused of bringing hundreds of Chinese nationals to this country to work at Wellmade and then paid them poorly or not at all.
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- Owner of Wellmade Flooring, 1 other, accused of trafficking people for labor servitude
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A worker says agents came to his home that is paid for by Wellmade Wednesday.
“All of us take (sic) to the church nearby until questioned by the police.”
He says he told police what he told Jones.
“Normally, I just work here. Yes. And nothing bad,” he said.
The HOA president in this community says too many people living in one home is a problem. Sheena Thompson says people were alarmed when they saw so many police in their community.
“They were just concerned about how many police vehicles were in this neighborhood at multiple houses,” Thompson said.
People in this community say a van picks the workers up in the morning and brings them home at night.
The worker says they aren’t going into Wellmade right now, and are waiting to hear what’s going to happen next.
Both Zhu Chen and Jiayi Chen remain in the Bartow County Jail.
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