In an affidavit , Timothy J. Reardon III , lead prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice in the case , stated Ma Anand Sheela had told members of the murder conspiracy that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had personally authorized the " necessary " murder of specific enemies of the Rajneesh commune . Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh paid a fine of US $ 400 @,@ 000 , agreed to plead guilty to immigration fraud , and was deported from the United States . He agreed to leave the United States and not return unless given permission first from the United States Attorney General . Joseph T. McCann writes in Terrorism on American Soil " Nevertheless , he was never prosecuted for any of the more serious crimes perpetrated by cult members , including the salmonella poisoning . "