Philippine authorities are awaiting the conviction of Mike Lombardi, an American who illegally recruited 18 Filipinos to the United States three years ago.
 
The news site Gulf News on Tuesday quoted Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay was quoted as saying Lombardi "recently pleaded guilty to charges of visa fraud and is now in detention."

"He will be sentenced on August 6, 2012," Binay said in a meeting with the Filipino community in Washington D.C. 
 
Binay is the presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Worker Concerns.
 
Lombardi is the head of US Opportunities based in Florida.
 
The investigation showed that he recruited 18 Filipino workers who had to pay P250,000 to P350,000 (Dh20,833.33 to Dh 29,166.66) each for a working (H2B) visa to the United States in 2009.
 
The prospective US-bound workers were diverted to Mississippi and Louisiana where they reportedly endured inhuman conditions such as sleeping in trailers without water and electricity; raking and bailing pine leaves in winter; and being forced to plant 1,800 pine tree seedlings a day. - VVP, GMA News