June 21, 2001

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Lakireddy Bali Reddy was sentenced yesterday to 97 months in federal prison. The sentence was handed down by Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong following a guilty plea one count of conspiring to commit immigration fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C.§§ 371, two counts of transportation of minors for illegal sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(a), and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, U.S.C.§§ 7206(1).

Mr Reddy, 64 years old, a resident of Berkeley, California, was charged in a criminal information filed by the U. S. Attorney's Office. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Reddy pled guilty to all four counts charged against him in the information.

In his plea agreement, the defendant admitted that between 1986 and January 2000, he arranged to bring Indian nationals into the United States using fraudulent visas. In particular, Mr. Reddy admitted that he made arrangements to have Venkateswara Vemireddy enter the United States on a fraudulent visa, to bring his sister into the United States posing as his wife, and to bring two minor girls into the United States as their daughters. He admitted that he intended to have sexual intercourse with both victims, who were younger than 16 years old. Another victim girl was reported to be 13 years of age in 1991 when she was brought by Mr. Reddy into the United States with false documents, and that he intended to have sexual intercourse with her.

Mr. Reddy admitted that he and other defendants arranged for the entry into the United States of between 25 and 99 Indian nationals on the basis of fraudulent visas. At least some of these aliens were vulnerable victims because they were young women and girls who came from poor families in India and who were dependent upon the defendant for employment, housing, sustenance, and income both in India and in the United States.

On March 5, 2001, Mr. Reddy's brother, Jayaprakash, and sister-in-law, Annapurna Lakireddy, plead guilty to conspiring with Mr. Reddy to commit immigration fraud. Their sentencing is set for July 24, 2001 at 9 a.m. in federal court in Oakland before Judge Armstrong.

Mr. Reddy's sons, Vijay and Prasad Lakireddy, remain charged with conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States illegally and other related offenses, including the importation and harboring of aliens for immoral purposes and travel in foreign commerce for sex with a juvenile.

Their next scheduled court appearance is June 26, 2001 at 9 a.m. in Oakland before Judge Armstrong.

Judge Armstrong sentenced the defendant to 97 months in federal prison and restitution of $2 million as well as a three-year period of supervised release. Additionally, Mr. Reddy must register with the state of California as a sex offender. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately.

The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by the immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Berkeley Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Corrigan and the Department of Justice, Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division with the assistance of the Berkeley City Attorney's Office and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.