Trafficker Convicted Of Exploiting Women On Long Island At Sayville Motel, Prosecutors Say

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A federal jury on Long Island has convicted Michael Johnson — known as “Wise” — of running a violent sex-trafficking operation out of the Sayville Motor Lodge, prosecutors said.

Johnson, 36, of Selbyville, Delaware, was found guilty in Central Islip federal court on Thursday of sex trafficking conspiracy, multiple counts of sex trafficking, and interstate prostitution following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, federal officials said. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life when sentenced, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Federal prosecutors said Johnson and his co-conspirators used force, fraud, and coercion to compel women — many struggling with drug addiction — to perform commercial sex acts at the Sayville Motor Lodge, a motel located near Sunrise Highway.

“Johnson and his co-conspirators exhibited utter disregard for the human lives they destroyed by profiting off the backs of vulnerable women,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “It is my hope that Johnson’s conviction brings some measure of comfort to his victims, including those who bravely testified at trial.”

According to trial evidence, Johnson controlled his victims by confiscating their earnings, dictating prices and advertisements, isolating them from others, and using drugs — at times withholding them — to ensure continued obedience. He also physically and emotionally abused the women, prosecutors said.

“Johnson trafficked multiple women into sexual slavery to profit off their bodies,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia, adding that he “maintained their subservience through social isolation, physical abuse and threats of death.”

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the case “serves as a warning to anyone who seeks to manipulate or abuse others — justice will find you.”

The Sayville Motor Lodge was at the center of a broad trafficking and narcotics conspiracy stretching back nearly a decade, prosecutors said.

In a 2022 indictment, Johnson was charged alongside motel owners Narendarakuma “Naren” Dadarwala, 79, and Shardaben “Sharda” Dadarwala, 72; their son, Jigar Dadarwala, 47; Ashokbhai Patel, 61; and Timothy Bullen, 38, were also charged. The motel’s corporate owner, Himanshu Inc., was also charged, federal officials said.

The Dadarwalas and Patel pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking conspiracy earlier this year and are awaiting sentencing; charges remain pending against Bullen and Jigar Dadarwala, federal officials said.

Federal authorities seized the Sayville Motor Lodge following the arrests. The property was later sold, with a portion of the proceeds set aside for victim compensation through the Justice Department’s remission program.