Fugitive Charged with Smuggling Women into Detroit Strip Clubs

Updated: Thursday, 27 Jan 2011, 7:50 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 27 Jan 2011, 7:50 PM MST

(NewsCore) - A wanted fugitive accused of smuggling women from Eastern Europe to work in strip clubs in Detroit was arrested Thursday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on human trafficking charges.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Veniamin Gonikman, 55, was one of their top 10 fugitives.

Gonikman was charged in Detroit in 2005 in a 22-count indictment with trafficking in persons, forced labor, alien smuggling, money laundering, extortion collection and conspiracy, among other charges. He absconded from the United States before being formally charged.

Gonikman, a US citizen, was arrested in Ukraine Wednesday, before being deported to the United States.

According to court records, Gonikman came to the attention of federal agents in 2005 when one of his victims escaped and agents later confirmed he was operating a company called Beauty Search, Inc., in Detroit.

The indictment alleges that Gonikman, along with his co-conspirators, formed and operated Beauty Search as a corporate cover for a human trafficking operation which smuggled and harbored Eastern European women in the United States.

The women were exploited and forced -- through threats, coercion and isolation -- to work as exotic dancers, primarily in strip clubs in Detroit.

It is alleged they were forced to work 12 hours a day and give all the proceeds to Gonikman and his associates. The indictment and other court papers allege that the women gave the co-conspirators more than $1 million of their earnings.

Gonikman will make an initial appearance Friday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is scheduled to be extradited to Michigan at a later date to face the current charges.

Gonikman's associates, including his son Aleksandr Maksimenko, Duay Joseph Jado, Evgeniy Prokopenko and Michail Aronovo, were previously convicted and sentenced on similar charges. They are currently serving prison sentences ranging from seven to 14 years.

Three other defendants in the case were also convicted.

If convicted, Gonikman, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

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