DETROIT FREE PRESS
Veniamin Gonikman said the women who traveled to the U.S. to work at strip clubs came of their own accord.
BY TRESA BALDAS
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
- Filed Under
- Local News
- City of Detroit
- Livonia
Once a member of the FBI's Most Wanted list and charged with running an international human trafficking network, Ukrainian nightclub owner Veniamin Gonikman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday.
But only to money laundering.
Gonikman insisted he was not the ringleader of the operation that smuggled women into the U.S. and forced them to work at Detroit strip clubs, as the government says.
He also refuted charges that there were any "vulnerable victims" in the case, and stuck to his argument that he was never on the run, but lived openly in a Ukrainian village for years before authorities ultimately arrested him there in January.
A hearing, which has not been set, will be held to help U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts decide what prison term Gonikman will get when she sentences him in January.
The government is pushing for a 41-51 month prison sentence, saying that Gonikman fled the country in 2005 to avoid prosecution in a case in which his son, ex-wife, daughter-in-law and business partner all were charged and convicted.
Gonikman's lawyer Walter Piszczatowski said he plans to seek a 10- to 16-month prison sentence.
"We are going to vigorously contest a number of issues at sentencing, including the claim that he was in any way the ringleader of this activity," Piszczatowski said after the plea hearing.
During the 90-minute hearing, Roberts asked Gonikman to explain how the women ended up in the U.S., what his role was in getting them here, and if he made any money off the women. The information could be used against him at sentencing.
Roberts' questions forced Gonikman to cough up more details about his involvement in the scheme, information that could be used against him at sentencing.
With a Russian translator at his side, a clean-shaven Gonikman in an orange jail jumpsuit told Roberts that the women who came to the U.S. to work at local strip clubs came of their own accord. He said he only helped two women move here without proper identification.
"More came, but I didn't have anything to do with that," Gonikman told Roberts through a translator.
Gonikman admitted that his son, who was convicted of running the smuggling operation known as Beauty Search, wired him money in Ukraine, where the government claims he lived in hiding for years. He said that he received more than $160,000 in wages the women earned.
Gonikman came to the attention of authorities in Detroit in 2005, when one of his alleged victims escaped. Authorities said that the women were forced to work 12 hours a day and turn over their earnings -- more than $1 million -- to Gonikman and his associates.
One victim testified before Congress in 2007 about her treatment.
"I could not refuse to go to work or I would be beaten," the woman testified. "I was often yelled at for not making enough money, or had a gun put to my face.
"Every week, I handed over around $3,000 to $4,000. I was their slave."
Gonikman's son, Aleksandr Maksimenko of Livonia, and other associates are serving prison sentences ranging from seven to 14 years.
But only to money laundering.
Gonikman insisted he was not the ringleader of the operation that smuggled women into the U.S. and forced them to work at Detroit strip clubs, as the government says.
He also refuted charges that there were any "vulnerable victims" in the case, and stuck to his argument that he was never on the run, but lived openly in a Ukrainian village for years before authorities ultimately arrested him there in January.
A hearing, which has not been set, will be held to help U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts decide what prison term Gonikman will get when she sentences him in January.
The government is pushing for a 41-51 month prison sentence, saying that Gonikman fled the country in 2005 to avoid prosecution in a case in which his son, ex-wife, daughter-in-law and business partner all were charged and convicted.
Gonikman's lawyer Walter Piszczatowski said he plans to seek a 10- to 16-month prison sentence.
"We are going to vigorously contest a number of issues at sentencing, including the claim that he was in any way the ringleader of this activity," Piszczatowski said after the plea hearing.
During the 90-minute hearing, Roberts asked Gonikman to explain how the women ended up in the U.S., what his role was in getting them here, and if he made any money off the women. The information could be used against him at sentencing.
Roberts' questions forced Gonikman to cough up more details about his involvement in the scheme, information that could be used against him at sentencing.
With a Russian translator at his side, a clean-shaven Gonikman in an orange jail jumpsuit told Roberts that the women who came to the U.S. to work at local strip clubs came of their own accord. He said he only helped two women move here without proper identification.
"More came, but I didn't have anything to do with that," Gonikman told Roberts through a translator.
Gonikman admitted that his son, who was convicted of running the smuggling operation known as Beauty Search, wired him money in Ukraine, where the government claims he lived in hiding for years. He said that he received more than $160,000 in wages the women earned.
Gonikman came to the attention of authorities in Detroit in 2005, when one of his alleged victims escaped. Authorities said that the women were forced to work 12 hours a day and turn over their earnings -- more than $1 million -- to Gonikman and his associates.
One victim testified before Congress in 2007 about her treatment.
"I could not refuse to go to work or I would be beaten," the woman testified. "I was often yelled at for not making enough money, or had a gun put to my face.
"Every week, I handed over around $3,000 to $4,000. I was their slave."
Gonikman's son, Aleksandr Maksimenko of Livonia, and other associates are serving prison sentences ranging from seven to 14 years.
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