December 13 :
Nearly 1,500 people serving lengthy jail terms had their sentences commuted on December 12 by outgoing US President Joe Biden. Vikram Dutta, Krishna Mote, Babubhai Patel, and Meera Sachdeva are the four Indian Americans among them. These aren't the only 39 people whose non-violent convictions he has pardoned.
These measures follow Biden's signing of an unconditional pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, which was done a little over seven days ago. The president made a statement stressing the need for rehabilitation and sentencing equity. Among Biden's stated goals as president are the following: ending sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, particularly those found guilty of drug offenses, and showing mercy to those who have shown repentance and rehabilitation. I also want to restore opportunities for Americans to participate in daily life and make a difference in their communities.
In 2012, Dr. Meera Sachdeva, who was 50 years old at the time, was given a 20-year jail sentence for Medicare fraud including bogus claims for chemotherapy services. Sachdeva, who ran the Rose Cancer Center in Mississippi, confessed to overcharging patients for chemotherapy medications and giving them lower amounts than recommended. Medicare lost $8.2 million because of her. Sachdeva was also sentenced to surrender $6 million and many homes in addition to being fined $250,000.
The Detroit pharmacist Babubhai (Bob) Patel received a 17-year prison term for his role in a healthcare fraud conspiracy that was worth $57 million. In the Detroit area, Patel ran 26 pharmacies, bribed doctors to prescribe needless medications, and offered low-income people financial incentives in return for their Medicare or Medicaid information. Patel was fined $18.8 million after his 2012 conviction.
The 42-year-old Krishna Mote was found guilty in 2012 of distribution conspiracy involving over 280 grams of crack and 500 grams of cocaine. Distributing narcotics through neighborhood households was a part of his drug operation in Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2007. After a three-day jury trial, Mote was found guilty and given a twenty-year prison term.
Almost twenty years in prison were handed down to Vikram Dutta in 2012 for laundering millions of dollars for a Mexican narcotics group. Dutta had numerous retail perfume outlets along the US-Mexico border. Dutta helped launder "narco dollars" from the United States to Mexico via his perfume distribution company, which he used to take huge sums of money from drug transactions.
The larger goal of Biden's administration in correcting sentence inequities, especially for non-violent drug offenses, is consistent with his clemency actions. Many of the clemency recipients would have gotten lighter terms under current policy and law, the White House said. Some have questioned the timing of the news, coming so soon after the pardon of the president's son, while others have praised the president's move and argued for criminal justice reform.
