A San Mateo couple pleaded not guilty to labor trafficking, according to the county District Attorney’s Office.
Qi Li, 35, and Jie Xu, 39, were charged with allegations of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, wage theft, and criminal conspiracy stemming from allegations that they hired a Chinese woman to be a nanny for their child and took her passport, refused to pay her and threatened her.
On May 28, the pair were arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
According to prosecutors, the couple hired a 53-year-old Chinese national who used an employment agency in China to find a job in the United States. The couple agreed to get the woman a work visa so that she could care for their infant for six months. Once the woman arrived, the couple allegedly also made her do all the housework and work seven days a week for up to 20 hours a day, during which she was even told to hold the baby while it napped.
“She was constantly yelled at and berated and was not allowed to go outside unattended,” wrote District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe in an email May 29.
The woman worked for them from June to August 2024, and in July of that year, the couple allegedly demanded her passport. She also alleges they never paid her on several occasions.
In August 2024, the couple allegedly blamed the woman for their child’s illness and held a kitchen knife to her neck.
Eventually the woman was able to speak to a nurse who referred her to the police for help, prosecutors said.
The pair are next due in court on June 23 for a scheduled pretrial conference.
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