Ukrainian nightclub owner Veniamin Gonikman was ordered Wednesday to serve
three years in prison for his role in a human-trafficking operation that
smuggled eastern European women into the U.S. and forced them to work in local
strip clubs. He is the ninth and last defendant to be convicted in the case.
Gonikman said his son, convicted of running
the smuggling operation known as Beauty Search and was sentenced to 14 years in
prison, wired him money in Ukraine. He said he received more than $160,000 in
wages the women earned.
Gonikman came to the attention of
authorities in Detroit in 2005, when a woman escaped. Authorities said the
women were forced to work 12 hours a day and give earnings -- more than $1
million -- to Gonikman.
One victim testified before Congress in
2007 about her treatment. "I could not refuse to go to work or I would be
beaten," she said. "I was often yelled at for not making enough money
or had a gun put to my face. ... I was their slave."
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