WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A lawsuit filed in California against Kellogg , Brown and Root on Wednesday alleges the company and its subcontractor were involved in a human trafficking plan that forced Nepali men to work against their will in Iraq . The lawyer and relatives of men who were employed by KBR and allegedly sent to Iraq without their consent . The men , between the ages of 18 and 27 , were recruited in Nepal and told they would be doing work in hotel and restaurant kitchens in Amman , Jordan , but were sent instead to Iraq to work at a U.S. air base , according to the lawsuit . The lawsuit alleges KBR , based in Houston , Texas , and Daoud & Partners , a Jordan-based subcontractor , engineered the trafficking scheme . A KBR spokeswoman would not comment directly on the allegations but released a statement defending the company . `` KBR has not yet seen the lawsuit so it is premature for us to comment at this time . The safety and security of all employees and those the company serves remains KBR 's top priority . The company in no way condones or tolerates unethical or illegal behavior , '' KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said in a statement e-mailed to CNN . `` Each employee is expected to adhere to the company 's Code of Business Conduct and complete ethics training , which includes TIPS ( Trafficking in Persons ) information , '' Browne continued . Efforts by CNN to reach Daoud were unsuccessful . When the Nepali men arrived in Jordan , according to the lawsuit , the contractors took their passports and drove them into Iraq . Mathew Handley , a lawyer with Cohen , Milstein , Hausfeld & Toll , which filed the lawsuit , said about 70 Nepali men were driven into Iraq in a large convoy of civilian vehicles . One of the lead vehicles was ahead of the convoy and was stopped by insurgents posing as Iraqi Police . Twelve of the Nepali men were taken by the insurgents and later killed . `` As the men were being transported to Iraq , a car containing twelve of the men was stopped by members of the Ansar al-Sunna Army , an insurgent group . The 12 men in the car were taken hostage and executed by the insurgents , '' according to a statement on the law firm 's Web site . A 13th man , Buddi Prasad Gurung , was not kidnapped and arrived at the U.S. Al Asad air base in western Iraq in August 2004 . Gurung worked in a warehouse managed by KBR and was released 15 months later by the company , according to the law firm . Gurung and the families of the 12 men who were killed have brought the lawsuit . Handley says the other Nepali workers who were sent to Iraq with Gurung did not come forward for the lawsuit after they were eventually released from KBR . `` Their families went deep into debt to arrange the jobs , which they hoped would lift them out of poverty , '' according to the lawsuit . The case garnered the attention of the Department of Defense Inspector General 's office after a number of news reports about KBR involvement in trafficking . The department concluded an investigation in April 2006 . `` The primary finding concluded that the U.S. Government had no jurisdiction over the persons , offenses , or circumstances that resulted in the Nepalese deaths , '' according to the final report . The report also concluded that the events happened `` before starting their employment with KBR . '' However , the case led to increased awareness and enforcement of trafficking laws by the U.S. military .
It claims that Nepali men were told they would work in mines in Afghanistan . They were instead sent to Iraq where they were tortured and killed , suit says . KBR issued statement defending suit but not directly denying allegations .