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A woman captured mentally disabled people, locked them up and enslaved them over a 10 year period in a horrifying scheme to claim their benefits.

The US department of Justice said Linda Weston admitted multiple counts of murder and slavery charges after her crimes were exposed by an FBI investigation.

Weston, along with a group of co-conspirators which included her daughter, targeted “mentally challenged” people who had become estranged from their families, the Justice Department said.

After persuading them to move in to locations she rented with her co-defendants in four towns and cities across the US, she became their representative and received state and disability benefits.

Their victims, which included at least four children, were kept in horrific conditions in locked closets, basements and attics in Pennsylvania and other US states.

Prosecutors said they were often sedated with drugs and kept in dark and isolated conditions during their ordeals, which for some lasted several years.

When the victims complained or tried to escape, they would be punished by “slapping, punching, kicking, stabbing, burning and hitting them with closed hands, belts, sticks, bats and hammers or other objects, including the butt of a pistol”, the Justice Department said.

The racket was exposed after a 2011 raid in which Philadelphia Police rescued six disabled adults and children.

In another case, Weston and her co-conspirators targeted Donna Spadea, who was kept malnourished in a basement and was not allowed to use the toilet. She was found dead in 2005, and Weston ordered her body be moved before authorities were called.

Another victim, Maxine Lee, died of bacterial meningitis and starvation in 2008 after spending months imprisoned in an attic and closet of a home. Prosecutors said the body was moved to a bedroom and the family fled from the property in Virginia to Philadelphia.

In a statement, the US Justice Department said: “Linda Weston, 55, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today to all charges in a racketeering and hate crimes case that involved holding disabled adults captive in locked closets, basements and attics in Philadelphia’s Tacony section and in other states.

“Weston pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping resulting in the death of the victim, forced human labor, involuntary servitude, multiple counts of murder in aid of racketeering, hate crime, violent crime in aid of racketeering, sex trafficking, kidnapping, theft of government funds, wire fraud, mail fraud, use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and false statements.

“U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 5, 2015. Weston has agreed to receive a sentence of life plus 80 years in prison, restitution, fines, supervised release and special assessments.”

The Justice Department said Weston’s daughter, Jean McIntosh, and co-defendant Eddie Wright have already pleaded guilty. Co-defendants Gregory Thomas, Sr., and Nicklaus Woodard are awaiting trial.

