CHARLESTON — A Parkersburg man was sentenced this week to three years of federal probation and ordered to pay $75,000 to a foreign national who lived and worked without pay at his business for 10 years.

Frederick Sayre Anderson, 65, of Parkersburg, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia after pleading guilty in January to concealing, harboring and shielding an alien from detection.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from in or about January 2011 until May 7, 2021, a foreign national of Madagascar worked and lived at Anderson’s Parkersburg business, a laboratory that provides water quality testing kits to state and local government entities around the country.

As part of his guilty plea, Anderson admitted that the foreign national entered the United States on a 90-day fiancee K-1 nonimmigrant visa that he obtained, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. While Anderson knew the visa required him to marry her within 90 days, they never wed and he knew her presence in the United States became unlawful once the visa expired on April 8, 2011, the release said.

Anderson also admitted that the foreign national did not receive compensation for the work she performed at his business, the release said. She slept in an office at the business that was converted into a bedroom. The business had no shower facilities. The foreign national showered at the home of Anderson’s business partner, John Robert Coe, or cleaned herself with baby wipes when Coe’s residence was unavailable, the release said.

The woman exhausted her life savings and Anderson encouraged her to lie about her income to obtain credit cards, the release said.

He then used her credit cards to pay business operating expenses and for travel, including a trip to the Cayman Islands that Anderson took with a friend.

Anderson also admitted he took steps to prevent government officials from finding the foreign national when they visited his business, the release said.

“In this strange and saddening case, the defendant harbored an illegal alien for a decade and took advantage of her at every opportunity,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “Faithfully executing the immigration laws of the United States is critical to public safety, national security and the rule of law, and this office is committed to the total and efficient enforcement of those laws.”

Coe, 66, of Parkersburg, pleaded guilty in January to continuing to employ a known illegal alien and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 7. As part of his plea agreement, Coe has paid $54,740 in restitution.

Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations, the West Virginia State Police and the Parkersburg Police Department.

U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case.