38-year-old Venkatesh Sattaru, a US Army veteran, has been sentenced to prison on various charges of domestic assault in a spine-chilling case of suspected human trafficking that took place around 2022-2023. Sattaru, a resident of St Louis, brought his young cousin to the US and then used him as bonded labor. According to court records, Sattaru’s cousin, an Indian, came to St Louis in December 2022. He was staying at one of Sattaru’s houses and was asked to do all household chores and errands for the company that Sattaru owned. This went on for months until the cousin was shifted to a different house of Sattaru.Sattaru used to punish his cousin when he failed to perform his duties and confiscated his immigration paperwork. He did not let him sleep, physically abused him and restricted him his access to the bathroom, bathing and food. “Sometimes Sattaru punished the victim himself. At other times, Sravan Penumetcha and Nikhil Penmasta punished the victim, either at Sattaru’s request or on their own initiative. The physical abuse included the use of dangerous weapons and resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim,” the court document said.During some of this time, Sattaru, was also exaggerating his VA disability to increase his compensation under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, also known as the Caregiver Support Program. The PCAFC provides monthly financial compensation to caregivers, who are typically relatives, to care for qualified veterans or service members. Sattaru fraudulently caused his caregiver to receive $83,776 in extra compensation from the Department of Veteran Affairs.All three individuals pleaded guilty. Sattaru pleaded guilty in April to one count of confiscating or concealing immigration paperwork while obtaining the labor or services of a person by means of serious harm or threats of serious harm and one count of theft of government funds.
The other two convicted in the case.
Penmatsa, 30, pleaded guilty on April 2 to one count of knowingly confiscating or concealing immigration paperwork. He is Sattaru’s brother-in-law. He was sentenced in August to 37 months in prison, consecutive to the 3-year sentence he received in St. Charles County Circuit Court.Penumetcha, 26, pleaded guilty on March 13 to the same charge and was sentenced in June to 30 months in prison.Sattaru was sentenced to 50 months in prison to run concurrently with a 5-year sentence for second-degree domestic assault in St Charles County Circuit Court. Sattaru has also paid a forfeiture money judgment of $74,634 to the Department of Homeland Security, restitution of $83,776 to the US Department of Veterans Affairs and restitution of an agreed upon sum to his victim.
Who is Venkatesh Sattaru ?
When Sattaru was first accused of enslaving his Indian cousin in 2023, his former friend Karthik Bollam told FirstAlert4 that he met Sattaru in India, where he had strong political affiliations and got land in India. to the YSR Congress Party. Bollam said at that time that Sattaru was known for using his political powers to help people. He had a restaurant in India and when it started performing poorly, he reached out to people to come to the US.According to records, Satturu came to the US in 2008 and worked at a kiosk at a local mall. Then he enlisted in the Army around 2012, after he received his US citizenship. Court documents said he was honorably discharged in 2014 after suffering “lifelong debilitating injuries while in training.”After leaving the Army, Satturu started his own company Keysoft. He also opened Absolute Barbeque Indian Wish Grill in the Chesterfield Valley. But it was closed in 2018.
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