The prostitution scheme was masterminded by Kishan Modugumudi and his wife. (Representational) An Indian-origin couple has been arrested for allegedly running a high-end prostitution ring in the United States by luring at least five actresses from Tollywood and advertising them for sex at Indian conferences and cultural events across the country, according to a media report.The prostitution racket was masterminded by Kishan Modugumudi, 34, an Indian businessman who rose to become a player in the Telugu film industry and co-produced several hit films, Chicago Tribune reported.The ring charged clients up to USD 3,000 for each sexual encounter, according to a 42-page criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Chicago.Kishan Modugumudi and his wife Chandra, 31, also allegedly kept detailed ledgers of the sex acts performed by each girl, including where they occurred and how much they collected, the report said.While here on temporary visas, at least five actresses were sometimes forced to stay in a dingy, two-story apartment building in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighbourhood waiting for their next "date," the charges alleged. They also met clients in hotels at conferences in Dallas, New Jersey and Washington.The complaint alleged that Kishan Modugumudi threatened the life of one of the actresses and her family if she told law enforcement the truth about what she did while in the country.Kishan Modugumudi told the woman, identified in the charges only as Victim A, that "it would be nothing for him to harm her if she talked to the police about him because she is small and unknown, not a big actress," the complaint alleged. "(He) further stated he had a copy of her passport with her family's name and address in it," the report added.Federal agents discovered the ledgers when they searched the Modugumudis' apartment in the 5700 block of West Belden Avenue in February, according to the complaint.Kishan Modugumudi and his wife have been in federal custody since agents arrested them in late April in suburban Washington, on a warrant, records show.At a detention hearing last week in federal court in Chicago, the couple, dressed in jail clothes, listened to the proceedings through a Telugu interpreter.Attorney Molly Armour, who represents Kishan Modugumudi, told the judge she had been trying to find a place for the couple to live so they could be freed on bail but that so far she had been unsuccessful. US Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez ordered them to remain in custody for the time being. The couple's two school-age children, meanwhile, are in the custody of child welfare officials in Virginia.The Telugu film industry, popularly known as Tollywood, is one of the oldest and busiest in India.<doc-sep>Representative image Key Highlights Sources in Tollywood said of five trafficking victims, the two well-known actresses hail from Bengaluru and Chennai. Tollywood sources cite videos of the two actresses attending Telugu association conferences in the US. HYDERABAD: Chilling details of sex trafficking of Tollywood actresses to the US include names of two top southern starlets. The expose followed the arrest of kingpin Kishan Modugumudi alias Sreeraj Chennupati and Chandrakala by US federal agents in Chicago. Sreeraj worked as a production manager in Tollywood before running a flesh trade in the garb of Telugu meets abroad. Sources in Tollywood said of five trafficking victims mentioned in the criminal complaint at Homeland Security Investigations in United States district court of North District of Illinois Eastern Division, the two well-known actresses hail from Bengaluru and Chennai. Starlet Sri Reddy, who hit headlines for fighting the casting couch menace in Tollywood, told the media on Friday that the NRI couple had approached her too. “Usually when artists fail to get offers, they go to the US and are lured into prostitution. Artists are paid over $1,000, depending on their popularity,” she said. Tollywood sources cite videos of the two actresses attending Telugu Association conferences in the US in which one of them thanked Sreeraj for helping her participate in the event in 2016. Sreeraj was also seen attending the event. Following the expose, Movie Artists Association has decided to hold a meeting on June 24 to discuss the issue. Read also: Sex trafficking of Tollywood actresses in US - How the racket was busted Speaking to TOI, Movie Artistes Association president Shivaji Raja said, “We are aware of Kishan Modugumudi’s suspicious activities. He worked as a production manager and co-produced at least two films. We have been warning artists not to go abroad for performances with those with dubious antecedents. Few years ago, when I was vice-president, we noticed suspicious activity. Usually, artists are not aware of the visa type issued to them for attending conferences in United States, Dubai , Singapore or Australia. We are meeting on June 24 on the issue. We are requesting artists to inform MAA about performance schedules and attendance at events abroad so that we can talk to organisers or associations and verify credentials.” In 2016, two actors Anasuya and Sampoornesh Babu criticised Sreeraj Chennupati for his alleged misbehaviour while extending an invite for a Telugu conference in the States. Actor Anasuya told TOI, “I haven’t visited the United States for a long time. I attended an event with music composer Devisriprasad way back in 2014. In 2016, Sreeraj contacted me from his American number, asking me to attend a Telugu association event. I was uncomfortable with the way he spoke. He was talking about making a commitment. I refused to attend the event. Despite my refusal, he put my picture on poster. I tweeted saying, I have nothing to with the event.” Read this story in Telugu<doc-sep>It looks like Tollywood is going through a rough patch dealing with back-to-back controversies. Recently, an Indian-origin couple in Chicago, USA, was arrested for running a sex racket in the country. According to a Deccan Chronicle report, three top actresses from the South were summoned by the police for questioning. It is said that these actresses were questioned for nearly six hours at an international airport in the US. "After the arrest of the couple - film producer Mogudumidi Kishan and his wife Chandra - operating a sex racket, the US police recovered the names and details of all Tollywood actresses who were in touch with them. When they found these three actresses on the list - they were in touch with the couple and had exchanged many messages/mails and were frequent travellers to the US - the authorities called them in for questioning for nearly six hours," a source told the daily. The actresses were asked to prove their innocence and were released after it was found that they had gone to the US to participate in an event. The daily reports that one of the three actresses, who recently gave a flop bilingual film, is famous in both, the Tamil and Telugu industry. The second actress was in the news for her relationship with an actor from a star family. The third actress is popular in Kannada industry and has done a handful of films in Telugu as well. ALSO SEE | Indian couple arrested for running Tollywood sex racket in US<doc-sep>
Controversies and the Telugu film industry seem to go hand in hand. A few weeks ago, actress Sri Reddy levelled charges against top Tollywood honchos of sexually abusing her. And now, a sex racket involving several Telugu actresses has been bust in Chicago, US. An Indian-origin couple was arrested in Chicago last week for running a sex racket in the country. The couple, Kishan Modugumudi and Chandra Kala Purnima Modigumudi, had been luring Tollywood actresses on the pretext of shows and then pushing them into prostitution. It is now revealed that the couple took six Indian actresses to the US. The actresses were first taken to Telugu conferences and other Indian meets held across the US to attract potential customers. An actress, Individual A, arrived at the O'Hare international airport in Chicago on November 20, 2017, from Delhi. She was traveling on a visa issued from Delhi on November 6, 2017, to participate in an event organised by the Telugu Association Of South California (TASC) on November 18. Since the actress arrived two days after the said event and travelled to Chicago instead of California, authorities got suspicious and began inquiries. On being questioned, the actress said that she was in the country to attend another event hosted by the North America Telugu Society (NATS). However, when investigators dug deeper, they found that the actress's statement was false and that the president of NATS denied inviting the actress to the country. Later, the investigation revealed that a 'Raju' arranged her travel documents and the trip. 'Raju' later turned out to be Kishan Modugumudi. The actress' visa was revoked. Another actress, Victim A, arrived at the Newark International Airport from Mumbai on December 26, 2017. Her visa stated that she was in the US for three months to perform at cultural events. Her travel histories showed that she had earlier visited Chicago on October 6 the same year and stayed till November 13. She also named a 'Raju'. The actress also revealed that she was going to Irvin, Texas, where she had to perform a Bollywood dance at a New Year's Eve event. During her previous trip in October 2017, she attended a cultural event in Pennsylvania which was organised by Raju. There, she was forced to engage in prostitution. She travelled to four cities through the course of her stay in the country, out of which, in three cities, clients were sent to her room. There was another accused, 'Vebha', travelling with her. Her visa was also revoked. Yet another actress, Victim B, who was invited for a Telugu event, was tapped by the authorities. There were two more actresses, Victim C and Victim D, who were also found involved in prostitution. The fifth actress was identified as a popular Telugu and Kannada star, who was also invited by the American Telugu Association. Later, it was found that she was advertised and used for commercial sex. ALSO READ| Tollywood sex racket in US : Anasuya says she was asked to 'make a commitment'