News / Law
Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani guilty in slave case
The millionaire couple were convicted of forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, and harboring aliens. They face up to 40 years in prison.
Prosecutors called the case “modern-day slavery” and said the two women, known as Samirah and Enung, were victims of “punishment that escalated into a cruel form of torture.”
The women allege they were beaten with brooms, umbrellas, and slashed with knives. They say they were punished with cold showers if they did something wrong like sleep late or steal food from the trash can.
Enung testified that Varsha made Samirah strip naked before wrapping her in tape. Varsha then made Enung rip it off. “When I pulled it off, she was screaming,” said Enung.
Samirah said she fled the house on Mother’s Day when the Sabhnani’s forced her to eat dozens of chili peppers and then her own vomit when she couldn’t keep the peppers down.
The Sabhnani’s attorney argued that the housekeepers made the whole story up and practiced witchcraft that required them to abuse themselves. They also claimed the woman went on vacation a lot and had plenty of opportunities to flee.
When the guilty verdict was read, one of the Sabhnani’s four daughters collapsed. The judge cleared the court room and paramedics were brought in.
Varsha, 45, and Mahender, 51, are currently on house arrest after paying a $4.5 million bail and $10,000 a day for security monitoring.
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