Says she has to care for son

Sabrina Budhram, who along with her husband pleaded guilty to money laundering in a New York court, is seeking a non-custodial sentence, saying that she has to give round-the-clock care and attention to her seven-year-old son who suffers from a chronic digestive disorder.

Her request for a reduced custodial sentence is also based on her objection to a pre-sentence report that lists the amount of money laundered by her as US$628,710, saying it inflates the US$30,000($6M) to $70,000($14M) range set out in her plea agreement.

Budhram, in a 16-page motion filed by her lawyer, John Bergendahl, has asked Justice Edward R. Korman to sentence her to home confinement in lieu of a jail sentence. She, and her husband Arnold Budhram, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. The woman admitted to collecting large sums of money from drug traffickers, while her husband deposited it into bank accounts in small sums to avoid filing currency transaction reports (CTR) that help detect money laundering.

In the motion, Budhram says her seven-year-old son Arin suffers from a chronic digestive disorder known as eosinophilic esophagitis, which has led to an eating disorder. As a result, she appealed to the court’s compassion to secure a departure from the other applicable advisory sentencing guidelines so that she would be available to provide the constant care and attention required by her son. The motion said there is no one else in the family who can adequately fulfill the role.

Budhram was portrayed as a first-time offender with a strong commitment to her husband and son.

In objecting to the pre-sentence report’s estimation that she laundered US$628,710, her lawyer argued that with the adjusted offence level, the advisory guideline range for sentencing should be between 27 and 33 months.

Court documents stated that a handwritten “money and drug ledger,” found in Budhram’s home at the time of their arrest, referred to individuals who are believed to be accused drug dealer Roger Khan’s co-conspirators and this may be used as evidence against Khan. The prosecution had told the court that bank records indicated that in 2001, a company associated with the Budhrams transferred money to a bank account in the name of Khan’s wife and child and it appeared that Khan was in direct contact with the Budhrams in early 2003.

The Budhrams were arrested and charged with money laundering on April 6, 2004 and investigators searched their home and work offices and gathered a large amount of evidential material. They were granted US$5 million bail each but were placed under electronic monitoring and are not allowed to leave their home without permission except to go to work. The prosecution had revealed how bank vice-president Arnold Budhram, and the radiology technician Sabrina Budhram, used a company they had set up and their connections to launder money for drug traffickers operating in Guyana.

Sabrina Budhram is the sister of Peter Morgan, who is now facing drug charges in New York after being extradited from Trinidad. Records showed that in at least one case the couple transferred funds in his name.