Millionaire gets 40 months for enslaving maids

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Long Island millionaire was sentenced to 40 months in prison Friday for enslaving two house maids, U.S. Attorney Robert Nardoza said.

Mahender Sabhnani, 51, was spared the same sentence as his wife, Varsha, who received 11 years in prison Thursday for subjecting two Indonesian maids to years of physical and emotional torture, according to prosecutors.

Varsha Sabhnani, 46, was identified as the one who inflicted the abuse, while prosecutors said her husband allowed the conduct to take place and benefited from the work the women performed in his home, The Associated Press reported.

The Sabhnanis were arrested in May 2007 and convicted last year of 12 counts, including forced labor, peonage, harboring aliens, servitude and related conspiracy charges, according to court documents.

The case began when one of maids was found in a Dunkin' Donuts store in Syosset, New York, bruised and wearing rags.

Authorities said the woman appeared to be hitting herself and repeating the word "master."

The incident set off an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which found a second maid in Sabhnani's mansion, hiding in a closet under the basement stairs, according to a statement.

The victims testified that the defendants' abuse included cutting and stabbing them, preventing them from sleep and keeping them from contacting their families, according to a statement from Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey of the Nassau County Police Department.

"The reprehensible and egregious acts of this defendant against two innocent victims has certainly touched our community and brought to light the deplorable conditions and the inhumane treatment associated with human trafficking," Mulvey said.

All About Criminal Sentencing and Punishment