FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2005 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

KANSAS COUPLE CONVICTED ON

INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE
CHARGES
FOR ABUSING MENTALLY ILL
PATIENTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that Arlan
Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda Kaufman, 62, were convicted on federal charges
for forcing mentally ill patients to perform sexually explicit acts on videotape and to
perform physical labor in the nude. The jury found Arlan Kaufman guilty on 31
federal counts and Linda Kaufman guilty on 30 federal counts, including
involuntary servitude, forced labor, conspiracy, healthcare fraud, mail fraud, and
Medicare fraud.

"Profiting from the systematic abuse and degradation of some of society’s most
vulnerable citizens, these defendants showed no regard for human dignity and
exploited the residents entrusted to their care," said Bradley J. Schlozman, Acting
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Today’s verdict sends a
clear message that society will not tolerate this form of modern-day slavery."

For over 24 years, the Kaufmans operated Kaufman House in Newton, Kansas, a
home for mentally ill patients where Arlan Kaufman, a social worker, routinely
forced and coerced his patients to engage in nude "therapy" sessions, which
Kaufman documented on videotapes he stored in his bedroom. The videotapes,
some of which were played for the jury during the four-week trial in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Kansas, depicted Arlan Kaufman directing the
victims to perform sexually explicit acts in front of other patients. In some of the
videotapes, Arlan Kaufman can be seen sexually assaulting victims.

Several victims testified at trial that Arlan Kaufman also forced them to perform
manual farm labor in the nude. The victims’ testimony was corroborated by Butler
County Sheriff’s Deputies who discovered four Kaufman House patients, naked,
working around the farm under the Kaufmans’ supervision.
Testimony at trial established that the defendants kept their mentally ill victims
compliant by creating a "climate of fear" at Kaufman House through threats, force,
manipulation, and constant abuse. Witnesses testified that the Kaufmans established
strict rules and punished violators by taking away residents’ clothes. In addition, the
Kaufmans isolated residents from friends and family, and on one occasion used a
stun gun on a resident’s testicles.

Linda Kaufman, a registered nurse, helped her husband enforce the house rules and
participated in fraudulently billing the government for the "therapy" provided at
Kaufman House. In addition, when patients revealed to relatives or outside health
care providers that Arlan Kaufman’s treatment included nude therapy sessions,
Linda Kaufman denied the allegations and assured outsiders that the victims’
allegations were "delusions" resulting from their mental illnesses.

The Justice Department has increased prosecutions of human trafficking cases in

recent years. Since 2001, the Justice Department has opened 493 investigations and
prosecuted 289 traffickers - more than three times the number prosecuted over the
prior five year period. The conviction rate for these cases is nearly 100%.

Civil Rights Division attorneys Lisa Krigsten and Kristy Parker and Assistant
United States Attorney Tanya Treadway prosecuted this case for the government.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Office of the Inspector General.

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