A federal jury in Central Islip has convicted Michael Johnson, also known as “Wise,” on charges including sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, and interstate prostitution. The verdict follows a two-week trial before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, with the possibility of a life sentence.
According to prosecutors, Johnson and his co-conspirators operated a sex trafficking operation at the Sayville Motor Lodge near Sunrise Highway on Long Island. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella, Jr., announced the verdict along with officials from the FBI and Suffolk County Police Department.
“Today’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for all of the cruelty and violence to women caused by his depraved sex trafficking,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Johnson and his co-conspirators exhibited utter disregard for the human lives they destroyed by profiting off the backs of vulnerable women. It is my hope that Johnson’s conviction brings some measure of comfort to his victims, including those who bravely testified at the trial.”
Nocella also acknowledged assistance from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Michael Johnson trafficked multiple women into sexual slavery to profit off their bodies, while maintaining their subservience through social isolation, physical abuse and threats of death, and addictive drugs. For years, Johnson demonstrated extreme depravity as he physically and emotionally traumatized numerous women to satisfy his own greedy desires. May today’s conviction not only provide his victims a glimmer of comfort but also reflect the FBI’s commitment to protecting all vulnerable victims from sexual predators seeking to exploit them for financial gain.”
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina commented: “Johnson took advantage of vulnerable women, using violence and drugs to control and exploit his victims, forcing them into sex trafficking for his own financial gain. This case serves as a warning to anyone who seeks to manipulate or abuse others — justice will find you. This sentence represents not only accountability, but also a recognition of the courage and strength of the victims who came forward. I commend the dedicated efforts of our detectives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.”
The investigation revealed that between 2014 and 2022, Johnson conspired with others to run a sex trafficking business out of the Sayville Motor Lodge. He used force, threats, fraud, coercion, drugs—both providing and withholding them—and other means such as isolating victims from others or confiscating their earnings to control multiple women involved in commercial sex acts.
In November 2022, an indictment charged several individuals connected with this operation: Johnson; Timothy Bullen; motel owners Narendarakuma Dadarwala and Shardaben Dadarwala; their son Jigar Dadarwala; Ashokbhai Patel; and Himanshu Inc., doing business as Sayville Motor Lodge. Additional charges were filed against some defendants relating to managing drug premises or distributing proceeds from prostitution.
Co-defendants Narendarakuma Dadarwala and Shardaben Dadarwala pleaded guilty in April 2025 to sex trafficking conspiracy; Ashokbhai Patel pleaded guilty in September 2025 on similar charges. They are awaiting sentencing while cases remain pending against Timothy Bullen and Jigar Dadarwala.
After arrests stemming from these indictments in November 2022, authorities seized the Sayville Motor Lodge property. In October 2023 it was sold by U.S authorities; part of those proceeds was set aside for victim compensation through Department of Justice remission procedures.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Catherine M. Mirabile, Anthony Bagnuola, Samantha S. Alessi with support staff including paralegal specialists Adam Bernard and Kerry Ucci.
