NEW DELHI: US investigating agencies have busted an international racket trafficking Tollywood and Kannada actresses into America for engaging in commercial sex with Indians on the pretext of performing at Telugu and other Indian conferences.
Here are the incriminating details that came to the fore which helped blow the lid on the scam.
The charge
The accused, Kishan Modugumudi and Chandrakala Modugumudi, both natives of Hyderabad but illegally living in the US, took Tollywood actresses and models to USA in the name of various conferences and ‘star nights’ but conducted a prostitution racket instead.
Modus operandi
* Tollywood actresses, models and anchors were taken on B1 and B2 visitor visas to USA.
* The accused collected $1,000 to $3,000 for ‘one-time’ sex with the actresses.
* At least 76 airline tickets were purchased from November 8, 2016 to November 29, 2017.
* Most bookings were made at Comfort Suites in Schiller Park, Illinois in the name of Kishan and Vebha
How the racket was busted
* One of the victims reached US to attend Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC) star night event in California on Nov 8, 2017.
* But she reached two days after the event and travelled to Chicago, raising suspicions of the Homeland Security Investigations.
* On probe, the victim said she came to attend another conference of North America Telugu Society (NATS) held in Schaumburg, Illinois, on November 25, 2017.
* After sustained interrogation, the actress spilled the beans on the racket.
The chat trail that nailed the case
Federal agents retrieved text messages from Kishan Modugumudi’s cell phones that contained conversations between him and customers.
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