Duo pleads guilty in labor trafficking case

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Two men arrested earlier this year and accused of being part of a door-to-door magazine sales program that forced young people to work for little pay pleaded guilty today.

Jeremy Moots (left), 22, of Norman, OK, and Justin Angermeier (right), 29, of Osborn, MO, each admitted to two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Wilmington Police arrested Moots and Angermeier in August after police got a report of a pair of teenaged sisters from North Dakota who had traveled unaccompanied to Wilmington. Detectives found the 15-year-old and 16-year-old girls at a hotel on Market Street.

At the time investigators said the girls ran away from home under the impression they would make a lot of money working for a door-to-door magazine company called Midwest Circulation, LLC, which is based in Missouri. Officers said the sisters only made $20 for eight hours of work, and when they asked to leave, police said Moots and Angermeier refused.

The men were charged with second degree kidnapping, human trafficking of a child and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. They and prosecutors said at the time of their arrest they were not the masterminds of the operation.

The District Attorney’s Office says Moots and Angermeier received 120-day jail sentences in exchange for their cooperation in the ongoing investigation, which involves law enforcement in several states. The other charges against the men have been dismissed because investigators say they have provided statements to help in the investigation.

The victims returned home safely.