3 jailed in alleged smuggling of fake taekwondo athletes

Too bad the alleged victims weren’t the martial arts experts they pretended to be, otherwise they might have kicked up a fuss when they were forced into servitude.

The half-dozen illegal Filipino immigrants weren’t the taekwondo athletes they claimed to be to enter the United States, authorities say.

So there were no hooryo-cha-gi hook kicks executed after leaders of a human smuggling operation seized the men’s passports, threatened them with deportation and forced them to work in two Long Beach nursing homes on East Vernon and East Walton streets.

But agents from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement made moves of their own Thursday when they announced the arrests of two men and a woman suspected of smuggling the workers into the United States.

Authorities said Philippine nationals Rodolfo Deafeliz, 39, and assistant Rolleta Riazon, 28, were apprehended as they prepared to board a flight to Manila. Evelyn Pelayo, 51, who owns the two Long Beach homes, also was arrested. All three were jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

A court affidavit filed Thursday alleged that Pelayo recruited workers in the Philippines promising legitimate employment at her board-and-care facilities. According to officials, Deafeliz, a taekwondo instructor, then would designate the recruits his “students” who were traveling to the United States to participate in martial arts competitions.

According to the affidavit, Deafeliz taught the conscripts just enough taekwondo moves and terminology to fool immigration officials. Federal investigators said they could find no evidence that the workers ever participated in any U.S. taekwondo tournaments. Instead, officials said, they were taken to Long Beach and put on 24-hour duty at the homes for the elderly.

Officials said the workers’ passports were seized by the suspects and they were threatened with arrest and deportation if they ran away. The workers were warned that police would be told they had stolen things from the homes if they fled.

According to investigators, the workers said they were instructed not to talk with families of the elderly they were caring for and not to fraternize with one another.

The workers also said they were told to lie about their work hours and working conditions if questioned by local and state inspectors who periodically visit nursing facilities.

Authorities closed both board-and-care houses Thursday morning after search warrants were executed at both sites. Ten elderly patients were removed to what officials labeled “legitimate” residences.

Officials said the FBI’s Victim Assistance Program will work with families of the elderly residents to find permanent alternative facilities.

“Forced servitude is an unconscionable crime and, as this case shows, it can take many forms,” said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office of investigations in Los Angeles.

“Holding people against their will and making them work under inhumane conditions amounts to modern-day slavery,” Schoch said.

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andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

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bob.pool@latimes.com