April 28, 2022
Three former workers for the Church of Scientology have accused the organization of indoctrinating them as kids, making it physically and psychologically impossible for them to leave what they described as a human trafficking situation. In a lawsuit filed in Florida, the plaintiffs say they were raised within the organization and worked on its Freewinds ship after signing a standard-issue billion-year contract to provide free or underpaid labor. Aboard the ship for over a decade, the trio alleges they were prisoners in “a world filled with abuse, violence, intimidation and fear,” working for up to 18 hours at a time.
Cohen Milstein’s Theodore J. Leopold, Manuel J. Dominguez, and Brendan Schneiderman are representing three individuals in a human trafficking and forced labor lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and five Scientology-affiliated corporations for violations of the United States Code Chapter 77 of Title 18 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Read the complete case study for more information on Baxter, et. al. v. Church of Scientology International.
Read Ex-Scientologists’ Lawsuit Details Slave-Like Life on Shady Cruise Ship.