WHAT THE HELL?

Suburban Chicago Woman Arrested After 33 Migrants Found in Her Basement

Accused of forcing them to work.

A Chicago-area woman has been arrested after authorities found 33 people, believed to be Guatemalan migrants, being held in her basement. The woman who allegedly kept them there, identified as Concepcion Malinek, now faces forced-labor charges, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Malinek, 49, lives in the Chicago suburb of Cicero. She’s accused of helping the immigrants into the country, after which she allegedly told them they owed her thousands of dollars for her help. Feds say she helped them find employment in a factory, delivered them to work in a van, then demanded large portions of their paychecks. One alleged victim said he made $1,956 a month at the factory and gave Malinek $974 of it, purportedly to cover his debt, bills, and transport to and from the factory. Another victim said no one was allowed to leave the basement without Malinek’s permission, and claimed that she would fine them more money if the basement wasn’t cleaned before everyone left for work. She’s expected in court Thursday.