TINTON FALLS – A doctor who harbored two women from India to be household servants for low pay, threatening them with deportation and risking one of their lives, had her license temporarily suspended.
Dr. Harsha Sahni, who has a rheumatology practice in Colonia, pleaded guilty in February to federal criminal charges of Conspiracy to Conceal and Harbor Aliens and Filing a False Tax Return in connection to harboring two Indian nationals from 2013 through 2021.
Sahni allegedly forced one of the victims, who lived her, to work 15 hours a day, seven days a week, and would not allow the victim to receive potentially life-saving treatment for an aneurysm without the victim first finding someone to cover her daily duties in Sahni’s home.
Her license is suspended temporarily. However, there is an administrative action pending that would permanently revoke her license to practice medicine.
“The criminal exploitation and utter disregard for the well-being of the victims in this case shocks the conscience and violates the most basic principles of medical practice,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “To protect the public and the integrity of the medical profession, we are securing the temporary suspension of Dr. Sahni’s medical license pending the outcome of these very serious allegations against her.”
When pleading guilty, Sahni admitted she knew the victims were in the country illegally. She said she provided them food, clothing, and housing but paid them less than legally employed housekeepers. She instructed them to tell immigration that they were tourists. She also didn’t pay taxes related to their labor.
The State alleged that the first victim worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for roughly $240 to $600 a month, which Sahni paid to their family in India.
Sahni also falsely claimed the victim had been abused by her husband in order to scam a domestic violence charity into giving her free dental treatment, according to officials. She repeated the scam with the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey’s Community Health Center
Furthermore, Sahni allegedly ignored complaints of headaches after the victim had a car crash in 2014. The headaches continued to worsen, while Sahni would tell her to take painkillers and continue working. Finally, she had to bring the victim to a doctor, and it was revealed she had an unruptured aneurysm in her brain. She pretended to be the victim’s sister and talked her into leaving the hospital against medical advice.
The next day, neurosurgeons at JFK University Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute said there was a 1-in-5 chance that the aneurysm would rupture and she could die. Sahni, pretending to be the victim’s primary care physician, continued to tell the victim not to have surgery while making her work 15 hours a day.
After the victim spoke to family members in India, police said she pushed for the surgery. Sahni told her she couldn’t have the surgery until she found a replacement. There is no evidence in the victim’s medical record that the victim had any follow-up treatment or surgery scheduled.
“Dr. Sahni’s inhumane treatment of the two victims, and her use of her license to perpetrate it, demonstrate a gross lack of judgment that cannot be compartmentalized from her duties as a physician,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “This conduct cannot be tolerated in the medical profession, as it places patients at risk and degrades the profession as a whole.”
Sahni’s criminal sentencing is scheduled for October 5. As part of the plea agreement, she faces up to 30 months in federal prison. She has to pay the victims a combined $642,212 and will pay up to $200,000 for treatment of the aneurysm. She would also have to pay restitution to the IRS.
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