Mathai alleged she was forced to work in slave-like conditions.
AB Wire
A former illegal Indian immigrant, Valsamma Mathai, who alleged that she was confined to a multi-million dollar mansion in upstate New York, and forced to work long hours in slave-like conditions for over five years, has settled her lawsuit with her former employer Annie George, for $20,000.
Mathai, who is now living in the US as a legal resident, worked at the mansion called Llenrock. Although, she had asked for at least $317,000 in her lawsuit as compensation for the work she did earlier, she received only $20,000, apart from $21,000 she made working at the mansion.
The American Bazaar had earlier reported that prosecutors attested George, who is originally from Kerala, forced Mathai — also a native of Kerala — to work 17-hour days with no time off or sick leave. Mathai also revealed that she was forced to sleep in a squalid closet during what little time she wasn’t working.
Immigration officials testified Mathai should have earned $317,144 during her tenure with George, instead, an investigator reported she only received $21,000 in payment.
A three-judge panel on the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals had last year also stipulated George must forfeit her multi-million dollar estate, which includes Llenroc, the 20,000-square-foot plus mansion that she effectively imprisoned Mathai.
George’s attorney’s had previously argued that forfeiture of her home was an excessive penalty, but the appeals court instead found that her interest in the estate — which she shared with her late husband — was about $100,000, which falls significantly short of the $250,000 maximum fine imposed upon George.
Forfeiture is allowed by law in George’s case because Llenroc — which is Cornell spelled backwards — is the site where she staged the crime she stands convicted of. The veritable citadel sits atop a 12-acre plot and overlooks both the Mohawk River and Erie Canal. It was constructed in 1992 by a Cornell graduate who wanted to pay homage to his Ivy League alma mater for the rumored sum of $32.5 million.
According to luxuryrealestate.com, the Llenroc estate was earlier listed at $12.9 million dollars. Distinguishing features in the mansion and estate are a sailboat-shaped indoor pool with separate hot tub, a four-story solarium encased by a teak balcony, a mermaid bar with see-thru views of the pool, sauna, a radiant-ready heated pavers stone driveway, and dancing opera, water and tulip fountains.
Read that story here: http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/03/04/annie-george-loses-12-9-million-llenrock-estate-in-new-york-for-enslaving-maid-valsamma-mathai/