Case files: Quiboloy's church workers in LA physically abused, forced into fake marriages
MANILA, Philippines (First published Jan. 30 at 4:01 p.m.) — Workers for the church of evangelist Apollo Quiboloy in Los Angeles
The FBI raided the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in a human trafficking investigation which led to the arrests of three church administrators.
In an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against the church leaders, FBI special agent Anne Wetzel said KOJC administrators Guia Cabactulan, Marissa Duenas and Amanda
The three leaders would confiscate the passports and force the workers to work as "volunteers" to beg for and solicit donations across the country.
"For victims who prove capable of meeting the cash solicitation quotas, KOJC administrators seek to maintain the legal United States status of the workers by fraudulently
Top-earning workers
Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service showed that
Cabactulan, lead KOJC administrator in the US, previously coordinated misrepresentations to immigration authorities and fake marriages before taking overall leadership. Duenas also
FBI investigation found that the KOJC started arranging marriages in 2007 to have workers stay in the US as the church could solicit more money in the US than in the Philippines.
A victim told the FBI that Duenas often traveled to different chapters of the church in the US to check the status of the fraudulent marriages.
Wetzel also narrated how KOJC workers were being subjected to sanctions, including physical abuse, if they failed to meet the quota.
"If a KOJC worker did not make their daily goal or quota, they
"KOJC workers who did not make their daily quotas were verbally yelled at and emotionally abused," she added.
A victim told the FBI that
This same victim, referred to as "Victim M" in the affidavit,
"According to Victim M, people in Upper Six
Quiboloy, a close friend of President Rodrigo Duterte and self-proclaimed "appointed
In October 2018, Hawaii News Now reported that a former KOJC member accused Quiboloy of running a "child sex ring." Earlier that year, federal agents also found $350,000 worth of cash and gun parts on a private plane where Quiboloy
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