Millionaire receives 11-year sentence in case of enslaved maids

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A millionaire who inflicted years of abuse on two Indonesian housekeepers held as virtual slaves in her Long Island mansion was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison.

Varsha Sabhnani, 46, was convicted with her husband in December on a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harboring aliens.

The trial provided a glimpse into a growing U.S. problem of domestic workers exploited in slavelike conditions.

The victims testified they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, and forced to climb stairs and take freezing showers as punishment.

Federal sentencing guidelines had recommended a range of 12 to 15 years in prison for Sabhnani, who was identified as the one who inflicted the abuse. In addition to prison, she will serve three years' probation and was fined $25,000.

Mahender Sabhnani, 51, who is free on bail while awaiting his own sentencing today, was charged with the same crimes because he allowed the conduct to take place and benefited from the work the women performed in his home, prosecutors said. He is expected to receive a shorter sentence.

Prosecutors contended the accusations amounted to a "modern-day slavery" case. They said the maids were subjected to "punishment that escalated into a cruel form of torture," which ended in May 2007, when one of the women fled to a Dunkin' Donuts wearing nothing but rags, and employees called police.

The women, whose relatives in Indonesia were paid about $100 a month — the workers received no cash — said they were tortured and beaten for misdeeds that included sleeping late or stealing food from trash bins. Both said they were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen.

The judge postponed a decision on the amount of back wages owed to the women. Prosecutors suggested they were due more than $1.1 million, while defense attorneys said the figure should be much lower. The couple also could be forced to forfeit their home, valued at almost $2 million.