A Queens Village man was indicted by a grand jury on charges of labor trafficking, grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing approximately $18,000 from a Bangladeshi man — in the United States on a student visa — by falsely telling him he would hire an immigration attorney on his behalf, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Rippon Uddin, 39, of 208th Street, was arraigned on Oct. 23 in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment that also charged him with scheme to defraud in the first and second degree and coercion in the third degree. Uddin allegedly told the student that in order to receive immigration help, the victim had to house sit for him in Queens Village, where he was often locked inside and forced to do unpaid household labor under th]e threat of deportation.
According to the indictment and investigation, the victim, who was 21 years old at the time, arrived in New York City in 2021 on a student visa to attend college in Missouri, but chose to attend a school in Manhattan. The victim met Uddin after his arrival and then enrolled in an online management program run by Uddin. The victim moved to Florida in 2022 to stay with a family member and attended the program virtually. Uddin told the student that he could help him with his immigration status and would hire him an attorney. The victim sent Uddin payments totaling $18,942 to hire the attorney.
Uddin allegedly told the victim to return to New York City in September 2023 for an immigration interview, fingerprinting, and to sign documents. The student went to Uddin’s home on Sept. 21, 2023. Uddin allegedly told the victim that he had to wait at the residence and would be required to house sit while Uddin traveled abroad. He said if the victim left, he would be forced to redo his immigration application.
While at the home, Uddin allegedly required the victim to do housework, care for a cat, and sleep in the basement. Uddin often locked the victim inside the home using a remote system. Uddin allegedly threatened the victim with deportation if he did not comply and slapped him in the face on one occasion for not cleaning the house to the defendant’s satisfaction. The victim did not leave the residence for 33 days and, while there, had no internet access to take classes, which threatened his student visa. The victim contacted the attorney that Uddin claimed he had retained, and the lawyer told the victim that he had never heard of the victim or had been hired to represent him, according to prosecutors.
“As alleged, the defendant took advantage of a young man who came to the United States to further his education,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He took the student’s money, imprisoned the young man for more than a month and forced him to work for free, while threatening the victim with deportation if he failed to comply.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone ordered Uddin to return to court on Dec. 9. He faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted.
“I thank the brave young man who came forward and my Human Trafficking Bureau for their work on this case,” Katz said.
