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Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat accused of visa fraud for underpaying her Indian babysitter, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury on two felony counts that carry a maximum prison term of 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Khobragade is charged with visa fraud for allegedly making “multiple false representations” and also accused of filing false information to U.S. authorities to obtain a visa for the caretaker.
“Khobragade did not want to pay the victim the required wages under U.S. law or provide the victim with other protections against exploitative work conditions mandated by U.S. law (and widely publicized to foreign diplomats and foreign officials),” according to the indictment.
Prosecution of the case remains on hold after Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office told a judge today that Khobragade was “very recently accorded diplomatic immunity status.”
The office initially said Khobragade had left the country today. Minutes later, Jim Margolin, a spokesman for Bharara, said the U.S. State Department had supplied incorrect information and only later learned that she remained in the U.S. after her lawyer contacted officials.
‘At Home’
“Preet Bharara’s reports to the contrary, Devyani Khobrogade has not left the country, she is at home with her children,” her lawyer, Daniel Arshack, said in a statement.
Khobragade was first charged Dec. 12. Her case triggered a falling out in U.S.-Indian relations when news circulated that she was arrested by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service in front of her daughter’s school in upper Manhattan and strip-searched while being held with other female suspects.
As recently as Jan. 5, the government and Khobragade’s lawyers had “ongoing” plea discussions to try to resolve the case before the goverment’s Jan. 13 deadline under federal law to file an indictment against her, according to a court filing by the U.S.
Visa Application
In a contract Khobragade submitted as part of the visa application, the diplomat said she paid the babysitter $9.75 an hour -- above minimum wage as required by law, State Department Special AgentMark Smith said in the original criminal complaint. In a second contract, the diplomat agreed to pay the babysitter 30,000 rupees a month, or $573, the U.S. said, which came out to $3.31 an hour. New York minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
Since her arrest in December, Khobragade had been free on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond and had to surrender her passport to the court.
After her arrest, Khobragade was named by her country to serve as a member of its permanent mission to the United Nations, a position that gave her a higher level diplomatic immunity than she enjoyed as deputy consul general at India’s consulate general in New York.
The case is U.S. v. Khobragade, 14-cr-00008, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Indian Diplomat Indicted for Visa Fraud, False Statements - Bloomberg
Khobragade is charged with visa fraud for allegedly making “multiple false representations” and also accused of filing false information to U.S. authorities to obtain a visa for the caretaker.
“Khobragade did not want to pay the victim the required wages under U.S. law or provide the victim with other protections against exploitative work conditions mandated by U.S. law (and widely publicized to foreign diplomats and foreign officials),” according to the indictment.
Prosecution of the case remains on hold after Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office told a judge today that Khobragade was “very recently accorded diplomatic immunity status.”
The office initially said Khobragade had left the country today. Minutes later, Jim Margolin, a spokesman for Bharara, said the U.S. State Department had supplied incorrect information and only later learned that she remained in the U.S. after her lawyer contacted officials.
‘At Home’
“Preet Bharara’s reports to the contrary, Devyani Khobrogade has not left the country, she is at home with her children,” her lawyer, Daniel Arshack, said in a statement.
Khobragade was first charged Dec. 12. Her case triggered a falling out in U.S.-Indian relations when news circulated that she was arrested by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service in front of her daughter’s school in upper Manhattan and strip-searched while being held with other female suspects.
As recently as Jan. 5, the government and Khobragade’s lawyers had “ongoing” plea discussions to try to resolve the case before the goverment’s Jan. 13 deadline under federal law to file an indictment against her, according to a court filing by the U.S.
Visa Application
In a contract Khobragade submitted as part of the visa application, the diplomat said she paid the babysitter $9.75 an hour -- above minimum wage as required by law, State Department Special AgentMark Smith said in the original criminal complaint. In a second contract, the diplomat agreed to pay the babysitter 30,000 rupees a month, or $573, the U.S. said, which came out to $3.31 an hour. New York minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
Since her arrest in December, Khobragade had been free on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond and had to surrender her passport to the court.
After her arrest, Khobragade was named by her country to serve as a member of its permanent mission to the United Nations, a position that gave her a higher level diplomatic immunity than she enjoyed as deputy consul general at India’s consulate general in New York.
The case is U.S. v. Khobragade, 14-cr-00008, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Indian Diplomat Indicted for Visa Fraud, False Statements - Bloomberg
