ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Three St. Charles County residents have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a forced labor case.

Venkatesh Sattaru, 38, was sentenced Thursday to 50 months in prison. This sentence is to run concurrently with a five-year sentence he received in state court for a domestic assault charge. Sattaru had pleaded guilty to 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 theft of government funds.

Nikhil Penmatsa, Sattaru's 30-year-old brother-in-law, was sentenced in August to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty in April to knowingly confiscating or concealing immigration paperwork.

Sravan Penumetcha, 26, pleaded guilty to the same charges, and in June and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Federal prosecutors say the victim in this case was Sattaru's cousin, who came to St. Louis from India in December 2022. Prosecutors say the victim lived in three different homes owned by Sattaru.

Sattaru's plea agreement says the victim was required to do household chores, run errands and work in a company owned by Sattaru. Prosecutors say if the victim failed to do these things, he was punished by having his immigration paperwork taken. The victim was also punished through sleep deprivation, physical abuse and restricted access to the bathroom, bathing and food, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say Sattaru would sometimes punish the victim himself, or he would have Penumetcha and Penmasta punish the victim. Penumetcha and Penmasta would sometimes punish the victim on their own initiative, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors also say Sattaru exaggerated his VA disability to increase his compensation. They say Sattaru received $83,776 in extra compensation.

Beyond his prison sentence, Sattaru was also made to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $74,634 to the Department of Homeland Security and restitution of $83,776 to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He was also made to pay an agreed amount of money to the victim.

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