Missouri Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Federal Prison for Forced Labor of Cousin
A federal judge on October 8 sentenced Venkatesh Sattaru, 38, to 50 months in federal prison for forcing his cousin into labor after bringing him to the St. Louis area from India, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Sattaru pleaded guilty in April to charges including seizing immigration documents and stealing government funds. According to prosecutors, the victim — Sattaru's cousin — arrived in the United States on December 16, 2022, and was housed in O'Fallon, Missouri, where he was subjected to forced labor.
U.S. District Judge John A. Ross ordered the federal sentence to run concurrently with a five-year state sentence Sattaru received for second-degree domestic assault. The court also ordered forfeiture of $74,634 to the Department of Homeland Security and restitution of $83,776 to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Two co-defendants were previously sentenced: Nikhil Penmatsa, 30, received 37 months in August, and Sravan Penumetcha, 26, received 30 months in June.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣路易斯天际线，图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）
