Woman Accused in Servitude Case Is Jailed

A Woodland Hills woman accused of holding two illegal immigrants from Thailand as indentured servants was jailed by a federal magistrate Friday after she failed to come up with collateral for her $500,000 bond.

Supawan Veerapol, 52, had been free since her arrest on March 27, when three prominent members of the Thai community promised to put up their homes as security.

At a hastily arranged hearing Friday before U.S. Magistrate Robert N. Block, Supawan’s lawyer, William H. Randall, tried to substitute the promised collateral with two other properties.

But Assistant U.S. Atty. Jack Weiss objected, contending that the switch “has to border on fraud on this court.” He suggested that Supawan most likely was the real owner of the properties, though they were being offered in the names of others.

Without ruling on the government’s claim of sham property transactions, Block ordered Supawan taken into custody and jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center. He told Supawan’s lawyer that after receiving two extensions, she had failed to meet his April 30 deadline for submitting the promised properties as collateral.

Randall said he would file a emergency motion Monday appealing Block’s ruling.

Supawan, the operator of several Thai restaurants, was named in a four-count federal grand jury indictment accusing her of harboring and employing the two illegal immigrants for more than six years.