Omaha hotel owner swept up in FBI raid once paid someone to rob him

Ketankumar Chaudhari, was one of five people arrested and charged after federal, state, and local law enforcement officers executed search warrants on suspicion of labor and sex trafficking crimes at four hotels.

The five people are also accused of money laundering, committing fraud and misusing visas, among other crimes.

In 2023, Chaudhari was charged in Douglas County District Court with conspiracy to commit a felony in connection with the robbery of the Brow Beauty Salon, which he owns.

Authorities say the robbery occurred Dec. 12, 2022 shortly before 8 p.m.

Chaudhari, who goes by the first name Ken, was sentenced to probation on Sept. 13, 2023 after being found guilty of attempted felony, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

A judge determined that Chaudhari had satisfactorily completing the conditions of probation and granted him early release from his sentence on July 1, 2024.

Chaudhari also owns the New Victorian Suites & Inn, one of the four hotels searched by investigators on Tuesday.

He admitted to hiring a man for $1,000 to rob the salon, according to court documents.

Crime Stoppers tips led Omaha police officers to arrest and an interview a man who admitted to performing the robbery for Chaudhari. The man was an employee at Chaudhari’s hotel. The salon he robbed was one of the businesses searched by authorities on Tuesday.

During the robbery, police said the man dressed in black entered the salon with a gun and demanded money.

An employee, identified as Chaudhari’s wife, was pushed to the ground during the robbery and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The man told police that Chaudhari approached him after Thanksgiving 2023 and talked to him about conducting the robbery. He said Chaudhari told him that “a gun had to be shown” and one of the employees “had to be pushed so she would go to the hospital.”

The robber later provided investigators with a recording of Chaudhari and himself. In the recording, Chaudhari is heard asking the robber why police had been questioning him and the men discuss the robbery.

During the conversation, according to court documents, Chaudhari told the robber that “he has contacts in Des Moines,” and that he should go there “so things can die down.”

Authorities believe Chaudhari wanted his business to be robbed so his wife could obtain a new visa. Some crime victims can be eligible for U.S. visas. Court records do not indicate that the man who conducted the robbery was ever charged in connection with it.

World-Herald staff writer Josh Reyes contributed to this report.