I think the word placement is important in this instance because it's factual, not just for descriptive purposes - the story outlines how the business model and

I think the word placement is important in this instance because it's factual, not just for descriptive purposes - the story outlines how the business model and the legal structure (contract agreements, etc) and the management actively collude to force the sellers into debt (from mandatory purchases by any means) and psychological crisis (from internal worry and external harassment). An alternative to "force" could be "pushes" or "coerce".