Cathedral Bible College President Pleads Guilty to Forced Labor Charges
By Tonya Brown
Cathedral Bible College President Reginald Wayne Miller pleaded guilty to Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting, Visa Fraud, and Willful Failure to Pay Minimum Wage Fraud on Wednesday in federal court. According to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office, evidence presented at the hearing showed that Miller recruited foreign students to attend Cathedral Bible College where he was president by means of false representations and promises regarding employment. The release also says that Miller also made false statements on the related immigration documents for these student employees. And that once the students arrived in the United States, Miller violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay the students the applicable minimum wage. The maximum penalty for Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting is 5 years in prision and/or a fine of $250,000, the maximum penalty for Visa Fraud is15 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000, and the maximum penalty for Wage and Hour Violations is imprisonment for 6 years and/or a fine of $10,000. Miller pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was arrested. According to the initial indictment, eight students at the college said Miller threatened expulsion and therefore termination of their legal presence in the United States for noncompliance with his demands. The international students worked on the Marion campus on student visas, and the warrant says they were paid below minimum wage. It also says they endured work schedules that were outside the bounds of those permitted by federal regulations. United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted Miller's plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed a report from the U.S. Probation Office.
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