Indian Perfume Millionaires Guilty in NY Slavery Case

Indian perfume millionaires Mahender Muralidhar Sabhnani and his wife Varsha Mahender Sabhnani were found guilty by a New York jury of forced labor, harboring illegal immigrants, involuntary servitude and conspiracy charges in a high-profile case dubbed by prosecutors as “a case of modern day slavery.”

The Sabhnanis, who live in a multi-million dollar home in Muttontown, a wealthy enclave of Long Island, were charged with enslaving and abusing two Indonesian women servants Samirah and Eung over a period of several years.

The Sabhnanis face lengthy prison sentences of 17 1/2 to 21 3/4 years depending on the discretion of the judge although in theory the sentences are over 100 years for both, according to the Long Island newspaper Newsday.

Mahender Muralidhar Sabhnani and his wife Varsha Mahender Sabhnani are American citizens of Indian origin.

Mahender is from India while Varsha hails from Indonesia.

Both Mahender and Varsha intend to appeal the verdict.

One of Sabhnanis daughter Dakshina collapsed in the U.S. District Court in Central Islip as the guilty verdict was read by the jury foreman and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The Sabhnanis could also be forced to forfeit their property at 205 Coachman Place East, Muttontown in New York to the U.S. as it was the location of the crimes against the two Indonesian women.

One Response to "Indian Perfume Millionaires Guilty in NY Slavery Case"

  1. fz5pxs   December 20, 2007 at 7:54 am

    I think a verse from the Gita is appropriate:

    Chapter 16 : Daivasur-Sampdvibhag Yog

    13-15

    The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.

    English translation of
    Holy Bhagavad Gita
    English translation by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
    taken from http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita

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