Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990 , when a federal grand jury brought indictments against several of the key players . Some had fled the country , and extradition proceedings against the perpetrators and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years . The final conspirator was convicted in 2006 , when Catherine Jane Stork agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia . Eight perpetrators received sentences ranging from five years probation to five years in federal prison and an additional member of the Rajneesh commune pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy . Rajneesh was never prosecuted in relation to the conspiracy , and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to reenter the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General .