Sex Trafficker Who Ran Sayville Motel Operation Sentenced to 22 Years: Prosecutors

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A man who ran a years-long sex-trafficking operation out of a Sayville motel has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Michael Johnson, also known as “Wise,” was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years in prison in federal court in Central Islip after a jury previously convicted him of sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, and interstate prostitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

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Prosecutors said Johnson led a trafficking operation that ran out of the Sayville Motor Lodge, located near Sunrise Highway, where he and others exploited vulnerable women over the course of several years.

“Today’s sentence reflects the profound harm caused by sex trafficking—a crime that strips victims of their autonomy, dignity, and safety,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. “Michael Johnson and his co-conspirators preyed on vulnerable women and treated them as commodities for profit.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Johnson’s operation spanned from approximately 2014 through 2022 and relied on force, fraud, and coercion to compel women — many struggling with drug addiction — to engage in commercial sex acts.

Prosecutors said Johnson controlled victims by confiscating their earnings, setting prices and posting online advertisements, and using drugs to manipulate them — at times providing substances and at other times withholding them to maintain dependence.

Authorities said he also isolated victims from others and subjected them to physical, mental, and emotional abuse.

“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,” FBI officials said in a statement following the conviction.

Several victims testified during the two-week federal trial in Central Islip, describing a pattern of violence and intimidation. Prosecutors said Johnson instilled fear through physical assaults and sexual violence, including rape, and carried a firearm.

The Sayville Motor Lodge was identified by investigators as a central hub in the trafficking scheme, which also involved motel operators and other co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

In a 2022 federal indictment, Johnson was charged alongside Narendarakuma “Naren” Dadarwala, 79, and Shardaben “Sharda” Dadarwala, 72, of Sayville; their son, Jigar Dadarwala, 47; Ashokbhai Patel, 61; and Timothy Bullen, 38.

The Dadarwalas and Patel have since pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. Charges remain pending against Bullen and Jigar Dadarwala.

Federal authorities seized the Sayville Motor Lodge following the arrests and later facilitated its sale in 2023. A portion of the proceeds was earmarked for forfeiture, allowing the government to pursue compensation for victims through Justice Department procedures, prosecutors said.

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

Johnson faces restitution to victims, which will be determined at a later date, prosecutors said.