NURSES BEWARE Fifty four year old, nursing home operator, Billy Denver Jewell, pleaded guilty, with four others health professionals for conspiring to fraudulently bring, hundreds of nurses -- most from the Philippines -- into the United States and work for substandard wages. The scheme was to bring foreign nurses under non-immigrant work visas and farm them to several health care facilities and be paid a meager $5.00 an hour when US nurses were paid $11-14 per hour. Jewell teamed with other nursing recruiters in California, Texas and New Jersey . He received $1,000 or more for every nurse brought in with a legitimate work visa as result of petitions filed by some 22 Jewel family operated nursing homes and extended care facilities. The operation brought Jewell more than $545,000 in payments from recruiters, who in turn solicited recruiting fees of $2,500-$7,000 per nurse. "It is unfortunate that the hospitals and the industry have looked to use foreign nurses and to pay them such low wages when in 1996 their profit was $21 billion," said Cheryl Peterson of the American Nurse Association. Jewell pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and wire fraud. Facing up to 15 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines, Jewell had no comment. The other three --Sidney Hewitt, 45 of San Diego , Holly Arthur Estreller, 46 of Los Angeles; Haesock C.Kim 48 of New Jersey all pleaded guilty to visa fraud and face $250,000 in fines and ten years imprisonment. Veronica Hewitt of San Diego, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting unlawful entry which carries a $5,000 fines and up to six months imprisonment. The nurses cases are being reviewed individually and presently, the Immigration and Naturalization Service have not initiated deportation action against them. Excerpts: Bohol Network |
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