Former Stockton Resident Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking Convictions Related to Forced Labor of Foreign Nationals

 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sharmistha Barai, 40, formerly of Stockton, was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 2 to 15 years and eight months in prison for forced labor violations. In addition, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. ordered more than $15,000 in restitution to the victims.

On March 14, 2019, after an 11-day trial, a federal jury found Barai and her husband Satish Kartan guilty of conspiracy to obtain forced labor and two counts of obtaining forced labor. Kartan is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 22.

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott; Matthew Perlman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), San Francisco Field Office; Sean Ragan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Sacramento Field Office; and Tatum King, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations for San Francisco and Northern California made the announcement.

“The United States abolished slavery and involuntary servitude more than 150 years ago.  Yet, inhuman forced labor and deprivations of liberty and dignity persist because human traffickers are modern-day slave masters who endeavor to exploit their fellow human beings for profit and other gruesome purposes.  The sentence imposed today sends a strong message that human trafficking and forced labor will not be tolerated in the United States. The defendant’s role in this scheme to compel the victims into servitude for up to 18 hours a day, with minimal pay, through intimidation, threats, and violence, is an unconscionable violation of the victims’ individual rights, freedom, and dignity. The Civil Rights Division remains committed to relentlessly pursuing justice on behalf of victims of human trafficking and holding perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division.

U.S. Attorney Scott stated: “The defendants’ horrendous conduct, done in the privacy of their home, was publically exposed during the trial. One by one the victims told their stories of the brutality they experienced: long hours of labor, inadequate food, and physical assault. Today’s sentence sends a clear message to others that systematic brutality against vulnerable victims will not be tolerated.”

“This sentencing sends a strong message: DSS is committed to ensuring that those who exploit and traffic individuals for personal gain will face severe consequences for their criminal actions,” said SAC Perlman of the Diplomatic Security Service, San Francisco Field Office.

“No human being should be lured into servitude with promises of employment. This form of human trafficking is heart wrenching: victims are often assaulted and live their lives in fear behind closed doors where escape seems all but impossible,” said SAC Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “The FBI will stand with our law enforcement partners to investigate reports of human trafficking and ensure victims receive the services they need.”

“This sentencing is a success in the fight against the heinous crime of human trafficking in our region and our dedication to bring these criminals to justice,” announced Tatum King, Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) NorCal. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their unwavering efforts not only in this investigation, but in our continued fight to disrupt and dismantle human trafficking networks worldwide.  We also are appreciative of the critical work that Community Based Organizations provide in bringing these heinous violations to light as well as the critical resources they provide to victims to assist in their recovery.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between February 2014 and October 2016, Kartan and Barai hired workers from overseas to perform domestic labor in their home in Stockton. In advertisements seeking workers on the internet and India-based newspapers, the defendants made false claims about the wages and conditions of employment. Once the workers arrived at the defendants’ Stockton residence, Kartan and Barai compelled them to work up to 18 hours a day with limited rest and nourishment. Few of them were paid any wage. The defendants kept the domestic workers from leaving and coerced them to continue working by threatening them, by creating an atmosphere of fear, control, and disempowerment, and at times by physically hitting or burning them. When a victim resisted or expressed a desire to leave, the threats and abuse became worse.

This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. The Stockton Police Department provided the initial investigation and later assistance with victim services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Hitt and Katherine Lydon prosecuted the case with the assistance of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

The Eastern District of California (Sacramento) is one of six districts designated through a competitive, nationwide selection process as a Phase II Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team, through the interagency ACTeam Initiative of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Labor. ACTeams focus on developing high-impact human trafficking investigations and prosecutions involving forced labor, international sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion through interagency collaboration among federal prosecutors and federal investigative agencies.