Queens physician Philip Baldeo compelled immigrant handyman into digital slavery

A Queens doctor kept an immigrant handyman as a virtual slave, a lawsuit claims.

dr Philip Baldeo, who said the city created an illegal Airbnb at 156 West 15th St. and ignored thousands in fines, forced the unnamed 44-year-old handyman to work until he became too ill to carry on, according to a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit .

The handyman, identified only as John Doe in court papers, claims he met Baldeo in 2018 and was offered maintenance work at the doctor’s properties.

Baldeo paid the man just $200 a week but pledged to help him with his immigration papers and to pay for his diabetes medication, according to legal papers.

Instead the family physician forced John Doe to “work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” threatened to call immigration authorities if he didn’t, and required him to live “on the first floor of the building near a front window to provide overnight security,” the handyman charges.

The worker claims Baldeo forced him to keep living at 156 West 15th St. even after the city slapped a stop-work order on the property.

Baldeo allegedly assaulted the handyman when he wasn’t happy with his work, according to the lawsuit.

Baldeo was indicated in August on labor trafficking and coercion charges, pleaded not guilty and released, according to court records. The case is ongoing. He faces two to seven years in prison if convicted on the top charge.

The worker claims he was “too scared” to tell authorities about the arrangement, and only revealed it after he became too sick to work in early 2021 and was hospitalized with COVID-19.

The man is seeking unspecified damages. Baldeo’s lawyer, Richard Levitt, declined to comment.