Following a 26-day trial, a jury in Kansas convicted Kaaba Majeed, 50, Yunus Rassoul, 39, James Staton, 62, Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49, Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43, and Dana Peach, 60, of conspiracy to commit forced labor. The jury additionally convicted Kaaba Majeed of five counts of forced labor. Two other co-defendants, Etenia Kinard, 48, and Jacelyn Greenwell, 45, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
According to the evidence presented in court during the trial, the defendants were all former high-ranking members of the United Nation of Islam (UNOI), or were wives to the UNOI founder Royall Jenkins.
“The United Nation of Islam and these defendants held themselves out as a beacon of hope for the community, promising to educate and teach important life skills to members, particularly children,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Instead, the defendants betrayed this trust, exploiting young children in the organization by callously compelling their labor. Prosecuting this case is a testament to the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to hold human traffickers accountable. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute parasitic criminals who target vulnerable victims to finance their lifestyles.”
”The bravery shown by victims of the United Nation of Islam is inspiring because they spoke up about heinous atrocities committed against them as vulnerable children,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “In childhood they suffered physical and emotional abuse, were denied a proper education and were subject to forced labor. As adults these victims found the strength and courage to pursue justice and face their abusers.”
“Under the guise of false pretenses and coercion these victims some of whom were as young as eight years old endured inhumane and abhorrent conditions,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “Today’s convictions should serve as a stark warning that forced labor will not be tolerated by the FBI.”
UNOI principles included many rules that members had to follow required “duty” or unpaid labor and emphasized the negative eternal religious consequences of noncompliance. UNOI operated businesses in various cities around the United States including Kansas City; New York City; Newark; Cincinnati; Dayton; Atlanta; among other locations.
In their former leadership roles in UNOI the defendants agreed to compel over a dozen victims including multiple minors some as young as eight years old between October 2000 and November 2012. The victims worked in UNOI-owned restaurants bakeries gas stations laboratory clothing factory often up to 16 hours a day providing child care domestic services inside defendants’ homes without compensation living in deplorable conditions while defendants lived comfortably.
The evidence demonstrated that defendants used coercive tactics manipulating UNOI rules created by its founder separating minor victims from parents enticing them with false promises controlling various aspects of their lives restricting communications requiring colonics rarely permitting medical attention punishing rule violations instilling fear through deprivation threats.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Feb. 18 2025 with Kaaba Majeed facing up to 20 years imprisonment mandatory restitution others facing up to five years each sentence determined after considering U.S Sentencing Guidelines statutory factors.
The FBI Kansas City Field Office assisted by Department Labor New York State Department Labor investigated this case prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Ryan Huschka District Kansas Trial Attorneys Kate Alexander Maryam Zhuravitsky Francisco Zornosa Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Anyone with information about human trafficking should report it via National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 available round-the-clock or visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org for more details on combating human trafficking www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.