http://www.contracostatimes.com/partners/ns/reddy_20001026.htm
Published Thursday, October 26, 2000
Berkeley landlord's charges are reduced
A son will face added counts of falsifying visa papers to supply his father
with two Indian girls for sex
By Leslie Fulbright
TIMES STAFF WRITER


OAKLAND -- Federal prosecutors filed reduced charges Wednesday against a
prominent Berkeley landlord accused of smuggling South Indians into the
country, but added charges accusing his son of falsifying visa documents to
supply his father with two Indian girls for sex.
The new list of charges was filed in anticipation of hearings next week that
will likely include guilty pleas for 63-year-old Lakireddy Bali Reddy,
31-year-old Vijay Kumar Lakireddy and three other family members.
The new charges, which replace an indictment federal prosecutors filed in
February, widely broaden the scope of what prosecutors say was a scheme to
import South Indians for cheap labor and sex.
The five suspects are accused of bringing in 33 people illegally between
Oct. 1, 1986, and Jan. 14, 2000. For some, they obtained H-1B visas intended
for high tech workers, falsely claiming they would be employed at Vijay
Lakireddy's Berkeley company, Active Tech Solutions, prosecutors said. For
others, they arranged false identities or sponsored sham marriages, the
charges say.
The immigrants ended up working at various family-owned businesses,
including Reddy's restaurants, apartment complexes and office buildings.
Neither side would comment on the pending plea deals, which could keep all
five family members from spending any time behind bars.
The 33 immigration cases are all included under one charge of conspiracy for
each of the family members.
Lakireddy is also accused of making false statements to a federal agency and
aiding in bringing two underage girls into the country to have sexual
intercourse with his father. The earlier indictment did not accuse him of
arranging sex for Reddy.
Nine counts in the original indictment against Reddy have been reduced to
four: one of conspiring to bring aliens into the United States; two of
transporting minors for his personal sexual use; and one of false statements
on a 1998 tax return.
With the new charges, Reddy faces a maximum prison sentence of 23 years. He
could also serve no time, be fined up to $750,000 and be required to remain
in the country on probation. The recommended prison time, fines and
probation will be outlined in a plea deal that will be provided to the court
today, but not be made public.
Reddy's oldest son, Prasad Lakireddy, 42; Reddy's brother, Jayaprakash
Lakireddy, 47; and the brother's wife, Annapurna Lakireddy, 46, are all
charged with conspiring to commit immigration fraud.
"Most of the charges are for my father and brother, but they wanted to get
the whole family," said Prasad Lakireddy. "They think we are all part of it,
but we are going to court for my father."
A sentencing date will be set at next week's hearings, prosecutors said.
Police first came into contact with Reddy during an investigation at one of
his apartment complexes in Berkeley, where a 17-year-old girl died a year
ago from carbon monoxide fumes from a broken heater. The girl was one of two
sisters Reddy is accused of having imported for sex.
A coroner's report said the girl was 7 to 10 days pregnant. It is not known
who fathered the child, and may never be known, prosecutors said.
Reddy could also face state charges, which could include statutory rape.
Alameda County prosecutors, who have been considering such charges, did not
return calls Wednesday.
Reddy will be arraigned today but is not expected to enter a guilty plea
until the hearing Monday. Vijay Lakireddy was arraigned Wednesday, pleading
not guilty. He is expected to change that plea next week.
The new charges "indicate a small fraction of the abuses that this family
did to young Indian women," said Jayashri Srikantiah, staff counsel for the
American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, which has
formed a legal team to represent Reddy's alleged victims in a possible civil
suit.
"The charges from the U.S. Attorney's Office are just the tip of the
iceberg."
Leslie Fulbright covers crime and public safety. Reach her at 510-262-2728
or lfulbright@cctimes.com <mailto:lfulbright@cctimes.com>.