August 16, 2007

Michigan man sentenced to 7 1/2 years for forcing women to work in strip clubs
He is the last of 9 to be sentenced; must also pay $1 million in restitution

DETROIT - A Michigan man was sentenced here today to 7 1/2 years in prison for his role as a ringleader in an involuntary servitude and money laundering conspiracy. U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy, Eastern District of Michigan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent in Charge Brian Moskowitz and FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena announced the sentence.

Michail Aronov, 34, a Lithuanian national, was sentenced to 90 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts following his conviction for conspiring to violate the civil rights of Eastern European women by forcing them to work as exotic dancers in Detroit-area strip clubs, as well as immigration and money laundering conspiracies. Aronov must also pay more than $1 million in restitution to the victims.

Aronov is a Lithuanian national who resided in the Livonia, Mich., area at the time of his arrest in mid-February 2005. He is the last of nine convicted defendants to be sentenced for crimes associated with this conspiracy.

"These criminals preyed upon the hopes and dreams of women who came to the U.S. for a better life, but found only enslavement, exploitation, violence and isolation, subjected to sexual exploitation, physical violence and isolation," said Brian M.Moskowitz, special agent-in-charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Detroit. "ICE will continue to vigorously pursue organizations that callously trade human cargo with no regard for the health or dignity these women, all while reaping the illegal profits from their suffering."

"The defendants in this case took advantage of innocent women from Eastern Europe by enticing them to come to the United States, and then holding them in bondage for commercial and sexual exploitation," said U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy. "In sentencing Mr. Aronov to 90 months in prison, the Court underscored the gravity of this type of crime. Criminal operations involving human trafficking, such as this one, will be pursued with the greatest vigor by my office."

"This case is a textbook example of the new paradigm of a multi-agency investigation and close collaboration with non-governmental agencies to bring perpetrators to justice and rehabilitate newly-escaped victims," said Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim of the Civil Rights Division. "The Constitution's prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude is the most basic of civil rights, and it is only by working together that we can make that guarantee a reality."

According to court papers, Aronov and his business partners operated a human trafficking ring that exploited Eastern European women and used the guise of a legitimate business, Beauty Search, Inc., to cover their criminal conduct. Aronov and his partners smuggled women into the United States and compelled them through threats and coercion to work as dancers in strip clubs, holding them in a condition of involuntary servitude.

To maintain compliance, Aronov and his partners used a well-thought-out scheme of intimidation and violence referred to as "The System." It included confiscating the dancers' passports; imposing large debts; enforcing rules designed to isolate the dancers through interrogations, monetary penalties, physical violence and threats; searching the dancers' apartments and threatening to turn them in to authorities because of their illegal immigrant status. On one occasion, they firebombed the car of a dancer who had escaped their clutches to send a signal to her and others not to disobey their orders.

The court reduced Aronov's sentence because of his extensive cooperation with investigators in dismantling the Beauty Search criminal operation. The court had previously ordered Aronov's henchman, Aleksandr Maksimenko, to reimburse the dancers a total of $1,570,450. The court also ordered that $537,043 in cash seized from Maksimenko's home and safety deposit boxes, as well as about $30,000 worth of jewelry, be used to satisfy a portion of the restitution award. Maksimenko received a 14-year prison sentence earlier this summer. His father, Venyamin Gonikman, remains a fugitive.

Three other individuals were already sentenced as a part of this conspiracy:

• Duay Jado, 28, a Greek citizen who has previously been ordered deported by an immigration judge, was sentenced to 46 months after pleading guilty to charges of interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises act. He was responsible for the fire bombing of dancer Tatiana Golovina's automobile.
• Evgeniy Prokopenko, 28, and Alexander Bondarenko, 28, both Ukrainian citizens, were sentenced to time served and processed for deportation after pleading guilty to visa fraud. They each entered into sham marriages for the purpose of securing visas for dancers.

Investigators continue to work with Ukrainian and European law enforcement authorities to investigate the full scope of the conspiracy.

The case is being investigated by: ICE, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations, and the State Department Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow and Luis C. de Baca, Senior Litigation Counsel at the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, are prosecuting the case. Peter Ziedas, Assistant U.S. Attorney, is handling the asset forfeiture portion of the case.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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