<p>While ordering a recalculation of restitution, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said, "In all other respects we find Defendants-Appellants' arguments to be without merit."<br /><br />The couple -- India-born Mahender and Indonesia-born Varsha Sabhnani -- challenged several procedures of the trial in the district court, including the court's management of the presentation of witness testimony, the content of the jury instructions, and the sufficiency of the evidence.<br /><br />Perfume-maker Mahender, 53, and his wife -- both now naturalised US citizens -- had lived in Syosset, New York, with their four children."The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that the Sabhnanis conspired to harbour in their Syosset home two aliens who were unlawfully in the US -— specifically, two domestic servants the couple brought from Indonesia," the appeals court recalled in its judgment.<br /><br />"The jury further found that the Sabhnanis conspired to hold these two women in peonage, keeping their travel documents, and to have the aliens perform forced labour on the Sabhnanis' behalf," it added.<br /><br />Following a jury trial, both defendants were convicted on counts of forced labour, harbouring aliens, peonage and document servitude.While the husband received 40 months of imprisonment, the wife got 132 months.The first victim, Samirah, a 53-year old woman from Indonesia, worked as a domestic servant for Sabhnanis from February 2002 to May 2007 even though her visa expired in 2002.<br /><br />The couple promised USD 200 but paid her daughter Lita only USD 100 back in Indonesia and Samirah herself received no money.<br /><br />"Samirah was not given adequate food to eat -— to the point that she was often forced by hunger to eat from the garbage. She worked for extremely long hours per day and was often deprived of sleep," court documents said.<br /><br />Once when Samirah was found drinking milk directly from a container, Varsha responded by "beating her and pouring scalding hot water on her arm."The couple's second victim was Enung, a 47-year-old woman from Indonesia who started working for the couple in 2005.<br /><br />She worked for more hours seven days a week and in return she was generally denied food, sleep and even medical care when sick or injured, according to court documents.<br />Both women were recruited by Varsha's mother, they spoke no English and their passports were confiscated when they arrived America. <br /></p>
<p>While ordering a recalculation of restitution, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said, "In all other respects we find Defendants-Appellants' arguments to be without merit."<br /><br />The couple -- India-born Mahender and Indonesia-born Varsha Sabhnani -- challenged several procedures of the trial in the district court, including the court's management of the presentation of witness testimony, the content of the jury instructions, and the sufficiency of the evidence.<br /><br />Perfume-maker Mahender, 53, and his wife -- both now naturalised US citizens -- had lived in Syosset, New York, with their four children."The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that the Sabhnanis conspired to harbour in their Syosset home two aliens who were unlawfully in the US -— specifically, two domestic servants the couple brought from Indonesia," the appeals court recalled in its judgment.<br /><br />"The jury further found that the Sabhnanis conspired to hold these two women in peonage, keeping their travel documents, and to have the aliens perform forced labour on the Sabhnanis' behalf," it added.<br /><br />Following a jury trial, both defendants were convicted on counts of forced labour, harbouring aliens, peonage and document servitude.While the husband received 40 months of imprisonment, the wife got 132 months.The first victim, Samirah, a 53-year old woman from Indonesia, worked as a domestic servant for Sabhnanis from February 2002 to May 2007 even though her visa expired in 2002.<br /><br />The couple promised USD 200 but paid her daughter Lita only USD 100 back in Indonesia and Samirah herself received no money.<br /><br />"Samirah was not given adequate food to eat -— to the point that she was often forced by hunger to eat from the garbage. She worked for extremely long hours per day and was often deprived of sleep," court documents said.<br /><br />Once when Samirah was found drinking milk directly from a container, Varsha responded by "beating her and pouring scalding hot water on her arm."The couple's second victim was Enung, a 47-year-old woman from Indonesia who started working for the couple in 2005.<br /><br />She worked for more hours seven days a week and in return she was generally denied food, sleep and even medical care when sick or injured, according to court documents.<br />Both women were recruited by Varsha's mother, they spoke no English and their passports were confiscated when they arrived America. <br /></p>