The Indian-American
community has often been held up as an example of immigration done right. At
over $100,000, Indian-Americans have the highest median household income of any
ethnic group in the US. However, in the Seattle area alone, a number of persons
of Indian origin have been arrested on criminal charges in 2016. This blog is
an attempt to document and name and shame as many of these instances as
possible, so that Indian-Americans are aware of these individuals in their
midst.Particularly in light of the recent election results, all of us need to
be wary and stamp out and expose any illegal behavior we see happening in our
communities.
All the data has been
collected from public record searches, and we will continue to expand the list
as we know of more such instances.
Sumit Virmani (ex-Microsoft director of worldwide health)
According to Kiro7 in
its news report on 5/13/2016, “Charges have
been filed against additional men – including a director from Microsoft and a
former Amazon director – for promoting prostitution after investigators said
they met with victims of sex trafficking at high-end Bellevue
apartments. One of those charged is Sumit Virmani, the director of
worldwide health for Microsoft.Using the names "Appy" and
"Jaytee," investigators said Virmani submitted over 70 reviews of
prostitutes he had allegedly hired since April 2012, according to investigators.”
According to the Puget
Sound Business journal, Virmani was charged with one second-degree count of
promoting prostitution, a felony, and pleaded guilty. The recommended sentence
for Virmani is 30 days of community service, one year of community custody, a
stipulation to attend and complete a Stopping Sexual Exploitation class and a
$3,000 fine, according to court records. Read about it here.
We could only find an
old picture of Mr. Virmani from a Youtube video, the link to which does not
exist any longer. His LinkedIn profile appears to have been deleted as well. He
is 43 and lives in Redmond.
Vivek Asthana, (ex-Amazon director of software development,
and the man who brought you the Fire TV!). Here’s Kiro7:
“Another man charged is Vivek Asthana. He was
the director of software development at Amazon, and spearheaded the company's
new FireTV.Asthana used the name "Captain America" when he allegedly
hired prostitutes at least 29 times through The Review Board and TheLeague.Net,
according to court documents. The tech directors are two of six local men
charged late last month in King County Superior Court with promoting
prostitution in the second degree – a felony charge.”
The Puget Sound
business journal reported in November 2016 that Asthana was sentenced on gross
misdemeanor charges for his participation in the prostitution ring. “Judge Theresa Doyle
on Friday accepted the state’s recommended sentence of 240 hours of community
service, 60 days of house arrest, one year of probation, a $3,000 fine and a
10-week Stopping Sexual Exploitation course.” You can read the full story here.
We were unable to find
a picture of Mr. Asthana, and believe he has also deleted his LinkedIn profile.
However, MyLife
has a few details on him. He is 42 and lives in the Bellevue area. Mr. Asthana has
a B.E. from the Delhi Institute of Technology, an MS from Michigan State
University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
Runika Tiwari was
arrested by the Bellevue Police in January 2016 for assaulting another woman at
a cinema theater in Bellevue. As this was not a felony charge it received
little to no press coverage, allowing Ms. Tiwari, a realtor with Keller
Williams, to maintain a public
profile with her own Facebook
and LinkedIn
pages. Ironically, it appears from these pages that she is involved in a
woman’s self-help program called Anvi, run by the India Association of Western Washington.
One wonders if the
people at Keller Williams , IAWW and Anvi are aware of this lady’s achievements! She has
pleaded not guilty to the charges, but agreed to a “Statement of Continuance”
with the city of Bellevue. This means that she agreed to 20 hours of community
service (so the next time she is seen at the Anvi community event, she is probably fulfilling
those conditions!) and have no contact with her victim for 12 months in return
for dismissal of the criminal charges. If she is found in violation of these
conditions, she is likely to face criminal prosecution. She is also currently
barred from Lincoln Square and Bellevue Square, where the incident occurred.
Ms. Tiwari, 42, is a
graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, India.
We believe in
highlighting these people as they are part of the community we live in. If we
don’t call out and expose the criminal behavior these people have exhibited, they
will only be emboldened further and damage the well-earned reputation of the
Indian community. We plan to grow this site and document instances of criminal
behavior by people of Indian origin. If you have a situation you are aware of,
please reach out to us with verifiable documentation to seattleindiancriminals@gmail.com. SeattleIndian.com
