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 BERKELEY LANDLORD SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR IMMIGRANT SMUGGLING
Lakireddy Bali Reddy, the wealthy Berkeley, California landlord accused of importing young women from India for cheap labor and forced sex was recently sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay his victims two million dollars.
The investigation into Reddy came after the November 1999 death from carbon monoxide poisoning of a 17-year-old girl in one of his properties. Prosecutors say that they uncovered evidence that Reddy had imported dozens of girls from India for sexual purposes, often engaging in fraud to ensure their entry to the US. He pled guilty to four charges of conspiracy, fraud, importing minors for sex, and filing false tax returns.
While prosecutors recommended that he be sentenced to no more than six and a half years, the judge ordered an eight-year sentence, noting the severe emotional damage he caused his young victims. Reddy will have to serve 85% of the sentence before he is eligible for parole. | 
