Monmouth County Doctor Sentenced To Prison For Harboring Non-Citizens
Tuesday, October 28, 2024, 4:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
TRENTON, NJ.- On Monday, October 28, 2024, Harsha Sahni, 68, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to 27 months in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for her previously guilty plea to harboring undocumented workers from India.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Sahni previously appeared on Thursday, February 16, 2023, in U.S. Federal Court in Trenton, New Jersey, and pleaded guilty before Judge Castner to one count of Conspiracy to Conceal and Harbor Aliens; and one count of Filing a False Tax Return.
According To Evidence Presented To The Court
According to documents and evidence presented to the court, beginning in 2013 and lasting through August 2021, Sahni conspired with others to conceal and harbor two foreign nationals from India, who Sahni recruited to work for her and her family in their New Jersey homes. Sahni harbored the victims for her and her co-conspirators’ financial gain and paid the victims’ families in India for their labor.
Sahni made the victims believe that they would be arrested and deported if they interacted with Police Officers. Sahni instructed the victims to tell people that they were related to her, and Sahni used fake names and addresses in furtherance of the conspiracy. From 2013 to 2019, Sahni also failed to pay certain taxes, notwithstanding that the victims were Sahni’s household employees.
In addition to the federal prison term and the order of supervised release, Judge Castner ordered Sahni to pay $728,327 in restitution and to pay $200,000 for specific medical bills.
