The property owner was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after admitting in 2001 that he imported girls and women from India for cheap labor and sexual gratification.
OAKLAND — Lakireddy Bali Reddy, a powerful East Bay real estate tycoon who was convicted of sex trafficking and remained linked to large property groups after his prison term, has died at 84. The wealthy landowner was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after admitting in 2001 that he imported girls and women from India for cheap labor and sexual gratification. He was living in Berkeley until recently; he was pronounced dead of natural causes Monday at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said. Following his prison term, Reddy and his family continued to own around 1,200 rental units in Berkeley through real estate groups such as Raj Properties and Everest Properties. A businessman originally from Andhra Pradesh, India, he founded an engineering college that bears his name in his hometown of Mylavaram, Berkeleyside reported.
