Former Toledo physician jailed for sex trafficking and drugging victims
A FORMER Toledo-area physician was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for sex trafficking, fraud and illegally dispensing a drugs.
Manish Raj Gupta, 50, of Sylvania, Ohio, was sentenced to 235 months and ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 and over $57,000 in restitution, acting US attorney Bridget M Brennan announced.
Gupta was a plastic surgeon and business owner of three surgery centers located in Toledo, Oregon and in Michigan area. He was authorized to prescribe controlled substances within the course of his medical practice and for legitimate purposes.
According to court documents, Gupta traveled to medical conferences in large urban areas. He would often stay at a centrally located hotel in these cities, hire escorts in the area and administer incapacitating drugs in order to commit sexual acts of violence without consent.
Gupta often recorded these assaults and, prior to his travel, would ship a bag described in court documents as a ‘rape bag,’ containing drugs and recording equipment, to the hotel where he was staying.
According to court documents, in August 2016, Gupta began corresponding online with one victim, an individual he intended to hire for sexual activity prior to planned travel to Los Angeles. On September 23, 2016, Gupta met with the victim at the hotel where he was staying, administered an incapacitating controlled substance, performed sexual acts of violence and recorded the assault.
On March 6, 2020, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at one of Gupta’s plastic surgery centers in Toledo. Agents later discovered 61 different videos of Gupta committing sex acts of violence on at least 20 different unconscious women.
‘Gupta meticulously planned his attacks, including which controlled substances to pull from his medical office so that he could incapacitate vulnerable women and record his sexual assaults,’ said the attorney. ‘The brave women who spoke out, along with the dedicated work of the FBI and prosecutors assigned to this case, ensured that Gupta was brought to justice and will no longer be a threat to women.’
‘The FBI is pleased with the lengthy sentence given to Manish Gupta for his heinous criminal behavior,’ said FBI special agent in charge Eric B. Smith. ‘He took advantage of these females and turned them into victims of sexual abuse. Gupta’s incarceration may pave the way for other victims to come forward. The FBI encourages anyone that was sexually victimized by Manish Gupta to please contact us.’