Peruvian Housekeeper Accuses Diplomat of Trafficking Her to U.S.

A Peruvian immigrant filed a lawsuit in federal court last week accusing a Peruvian official of bringing her to the United States to be an involuntary servant in the official’s Wayne home, The New York Times reported.

Maria Rios Fun is accusing Marita Puertas Pulgar, first secretary of the Peruvan mission and her partner, Alexis Aquino Albergrin, of forcing her to work up to 16 hours a day, everyday, for them at their Wayne home when Puertas was stationed at the United Nations, the paper reported on its website Monday.

The suit was filed June 13 in Newark, court records show.

The report states that Rios said Puertas and Aquino promised her “fair wages and a humane work schedule.” The report states that Rios was to work five days a week, earning nearly $10 an hour and almost $15 for every hour of overtime she worked. She often worked from dawn until 10 p.m., was undernourished, and paid “significantly less than her base salary,” the report states.

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