Thread: Millionaire Couple Accused of keeping slaves

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (May 24) - A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their luxurious Long Island home and abusing them for years have been indicted on federal slavery charges.

Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, operate a worldwide perfume business out of their home, contracting with overseas factories to manufacture the fragrances.

The two were arrested last week after one of their servants was found wandering outside a doughnut shop on Long Island, wearing only pants and a towel. The woman was believed to have fled the home when she took the trash out the night before.

The couple pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court , and a magistrate judge set bail at $3.5 million and imposed home detention with electronic monitoring.

An indictment handed up Tuesday night formally charged with them with two counts of forced labor and added two counts of harboring illegal residents.

Charles A. Ross, who represents Varsha Sabhnani, has said that the couple traveled extensively and that the two Indonesian women were free to leave whenever they wished. He previously described them as "model citizens" who "only want to clear their names."

Friends and relatives indicated the two would be willing to post bail, but as of Wednesday, they remained in custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Demitri Jones called the allegations "truly a case of modern-day slavery."

The women, prosecutors said, were subjected to beatings, had scalding water thrown on them and were forced to repeatedly climb stairs as punishment for perceived misdeeds. In one case, prosecutors said, one of the women was forced to eat 25 hot chili peppers at one time.

One of the women also told authorities they were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen and were fed so little, they had to steal food.

The women legally arrived in the United States on B-1 visas in 2002; the Sabhnanis then confiscated their passports and refused to let them leave their home, authorities said. Identified in court papers as Samirah and Nona, the women said they were promised payments of $200 and $100 a month, but federal prosecutors said they were never given money directly. One of the victims' daughters living in Indonesia was sent $100 a month, prosecutors said.

They have since been cared for by Catholic Charities, according to a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Here is a sad story showing the abuses of low-skilled, less educated Visa holders. This is a terrible shame this couple felt they were above the law and how they hurt and abused these women. Hope they spend lots of time in jail.

AmericanElizabeth, link please?

Attempted bribe linked to slave case

BY ROBERT E. KESSLER
robert.kessler@newsday.com

May 25, 2007

Federal prosecutors dropped a bombshell Thursday at a bail hearing for an affluent Muttontown couple charged with slavery and harboring illegal residents, saying the mother of one of the accused had offered a bribe to a relative of one of the alleged victims.

The allegation led a federal judge to delay a hearing on whether the couple should be released on bail until the bribery accusation -- as well as prosecutors' questions about the couple's finances -- are cleared up.

The bribery allegation came after the couple, Varsha Sabhnani and her husband, Mahender Sabhnani, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Central Islip to charges of slavery and harboring fugitive aliens.

"With some astonishment ... in the past hours, we have learned a very disturbing set of facts," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lesko.

Prosecutors said Varsha Sabhnani's mother recently had tried to bribe the son-in-law of one of the two Indonesian women who were allegedly enslaved and tortured. The bribe, worth $2,500 in Indonesian currency, was conditioned on the alleged victim's return to Indonesia, where her family and Mrs. Sabhnani's mother live, prosecutors said.

The alleged victim who was the subject of the purported bribe was identified in court only as Jane Doe No. 1, but has been previously identified in court papers as Samirah. Prosecutors Lesko and Demetri Jones have previously said that Jane Doe No. 1 had been repeatedly tortured by Varsha Sabhnani.

Prosecutors said Varsha Sabhnani told Jane Doe No. 1 that if she caused trouble and fled, she would call the police and say the Indonesian woman had stolen her jewelry. They said Sabhnani told the second victim, who has been identified as Jane Doe No. 2 and Nona, that if she caused trouble, Sabhnani's influential friends in Indonesia would have her husband, who lives there, arrested.

Earlier in the week, a federal magistrate had said the Sabhnanis could be released on bail under a stringent set of conditions, but the filing of the indictment allowed the government to call for a new bail hearing. Prosecutors also said the Sabhnanis had not submitted adequate financial information to support the bail.

Defense attorneys said the prosecutors had not previously asked for any new financial information, and claimed it was unfair for the government to raise the bribe allegation in the midst of the bail hearing without prior notice.

Varsha Sabhnani's attorney, Charles Ross, said he was confident the bribe allegation would not be substantiated.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Platt scheduled the next hearing in the case for Wednesday.

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzsl ... -headlines

Sorry again. Seems I am having problems remembering these little things lately.