Foreign workers at Douglas hotels trapped in an alleged human trafficking scheme based in Kansas City, Mo., are doing well, their former manager said Wednesday.

"They are wonderful people," said Mary Wilson, owner of the Holiday Inn Express and Sleep Inn in Douglas.

"I see them on Facebook and they're doing well," Wilson said.

She hired those employees through Giant Labor Solutions, which treated them as "modern-day slaves," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City.

In late May, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transported nine of them - six at Wilson's two hotels, and three from other hotels - and another nine in Casper to the Kansas City area where they were placed in temporary protective custody.

They were among hundreds of foreign workers in Wyoming and 13 other states contracted by Giant Labor Solutions and two other companies to hotels and casinos, according to a 45-count federal grand jury indictment handed down in late May.

The companies and 12 defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, were charged with racketeering, forced labor trafficking, immigration violations, identity theft, visa fraud, extortion, money laundering and other violations. Convictions on many of the charges carry penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment, and up to $500,000 in fines, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in western Missouri.

"The defendants allegedly used false information to acquire fraudulent work visas for these foreign nationals. Many of their employees were allegedly victims of human trafficking who were coerced to work in violation of the terms of their visa without proper pay and under the threat of deportation. The defendants also required them to reside together in crowded, substandard and overpriced apartments," said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Whitworth.

Wilson said Giant Labor Solutions approached her last fall with the offer of workers, and it seemed like a good program, she said in May.

The Filipinos had college degrees in computer science, business and marketing; spoke good English; knew their way around a hotel; and wanted to support their families back home, she said.

But Giant Labor Solutions put them in a two-bedroom apartment without kitchen utensils or bedding, gave them a junker van and deducted money for that, too, she said.

Giant also promised them it was resolving visa issues, but that never happened, Wilson said.

Meanwhile, Douglas residents helped them with food, transportation and better housing.

Since the employees' departure in May, Wilson has communicated with them through Facebook and e-mail, she said.

Many of them found other employment elsewhere in the United States or stayed in the Kansas City area, Wilson said.

"I miss them terrible," she said.

Wilson understands why they would not want to return to Douglas or Casper because people affiliated with Giant Labor Solutions may want to harm them, she said. "Some were fearful."

The hotels in central Wyoming are not under investigation.

Neither Wilson nor Lisa Sanborn, general manager of the Ramada on the Riverside in Casper, have heard much about the investigation, they said.

Four of the employees at the Ramada have returned to Casper to work, Sanborn said.

The workers are legal and their paperwork is in order, she added.

Unlike some hotels elsewhere, the federal government did not execute search warrants on businesses in central Wyoming, said Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice in Kansas City.

Ledford declined to comment on the status or locations of any of the alleged victims, because they may be witnesses in the prosecution of the case.

The defendants, including alleged ringleader Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments, he said. They are detained without bond.

The trial date has not been set, according to federal court records.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at tom.morton@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMorton/blog.