NEW YORK: US authorities have accused two men in New York of recruiting immigrants from the Philippines to work for little or no pay at an historic catering hall in a case of human trafficking happening "in plain sight". The pair lured workers with promises of good jobs and paid money into their bank accounts but took it back and threatened to report them if they complained, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said in a statement.

Many of the workers were living with expired visas in the basement of one of the accused men, ICE said. "This case is an example of ruthless labor trafficking hiding in plain sight," said Angel Melendez, ICE special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York, in a statement. "These individuals allegedly committed visa fraud while forcing people to work in their catering hall under horrible conditions, in what seemed to be an inescapable situation."