Tigard mother, daughter indicted on forced labor and health care fraud charges
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Just days after the City of Bend recognized Human Trafficking Awareness Month with a proclamation, federal prosecutors announced unrelated charges against a Tigard mother and daughter accused of forced labor and health care fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, 67-year-old Marie Gertrude Jean Valmont and her daughter, 31-year-old Yolandita Marie Andre, operated Velida’s Home Care in Tigard. The two allegedly forced three victims, including a minor, to work for little or no pay in their adult foster care home.
Investigators say the victims were brought to Oregon from Haiti in September 2023 with promises of steady work and housing. Once they arrived, Valmont allegedly confiscated their immigration documents and controlled nearly every aspect of their daily lives, coercing them to work long hours under threat.
Federal prosecutors also allege that Valmont and Andre falsified Medicaid and disability claim information to receive fraudulent payments from the Oregon Department of Human Services and Medicaid programs, while paying the victims little or nothing.
Both women face multiple federal counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, forced labor, and making false statements related to fraud. Each charge carries potential prison sentences of up to 20 years.
The FBI and Tigard Police Department led the investigation, with assistance from the Oregon Department of Justice.
Authorities remind the public that an indictment is only an accusation and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Anyone with information about possible human trafficking is encouraged to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
