Bikram Yoga guru on the run: Arrest warrant issued for Bikram Choudhury after he 'flees the country' to avoid paying out $7million in a sexual harassment suit

  • A judge issued the arrest warrant on Wednesday
  • The warrant allows Choudhury to be arrested in the US or Mexico
  • Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Bikram Choudhury to hand over funds from his book sales and from nearly 700 yoga studios
  • Authorities say instead of paying up, he hid his assets and fled the country 
  • Choudhury's former legal adviser Minakshi 'Miki' Jafa-Bodden successfully sued the yogi last year, claiming sexual harassment and wrongful termination
  • She was awarded close to $1million in compensatory damages and more than $6million in punitive damages 
  • Choudhury must turn over collection of 43 luxury cars, including 13 Rolls-Royces, eight Bentleys and three Ferraris

An arrest warrant has been issued for hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury for failing to pay a penny of the more than $7 million he owes in a sexual harassment suit.

Authorities believe that the successful yogi hid his assets and fled the country. The warrant will allow him to be arrested if he returns to the US or if he can be found in Mexico, according to ABC News.

If arrested, bail would be set at $8million, according to ABC 7. It's unclear where he might be. 

Fitness guru Bikram Choudhury (left) had been ordered to turn over the proceeds from his yoga business to go toward a $6.8million judgment in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Minakshi 'Miki' Jafa-Bodden (right)

The Bikram yoga founder has 700 franchises all over the world that pay him to license his name

The Bikram yoga founder has 700 franchises all over the world that pay him to license his name

He was ordered to pay $7million to his former lawyer; six other women filed harassment lawsuits, five accusing him of rape

He was ordered to pay $7million to his former lawyer; six other women filed harassment lawsuits, five accusing him of rape

The embattled 70-year-old founder of Bikram yoga had been ordered to turn over the proceeds from his global fitness business to go toward a pay $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $924,000 in compensatory damages after he was found guilty of sexually harassing then wrongly firing his lawyer, Minakshi 'Miki' Jafa-Bodden.

'I feel vindicated. I'm elated,' she told ABC at the time of the 2016 judgement. She said she had repeatedly harassed her and subjected her to obscene comments about women, then fired her when she tried to investigate another woman's rape claims. 

'The hardest problem in my life is stay away from women,' he told ABC News five years ago, when allegations were circling even then that he was harassing and groping students and colleagues. 'Women like me but yogi supposed to be yogi.' 

Bikram yoga is regular Hatha yoga but done in high temperatures which are said to make participants more flexible and able to lose weight 

Bikram yoga is regular Hatha yoga but done in high temperatures which are said to make participants more flexible and able to lose weight 

Choudhury also has been ordered to turn over his collection of luxury cars, some of which are pictured above

Choudhury also has been ordered to turn over his collection of luxury cars, some of which are pictured above

In December, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Choudhury to hand over to a court-appointed receiver funds from his book sales and from the nearly 700 yoga studios in Europe, Asia and the Americas that pay to use his name.  

Carla Minnard, Jafa-Bodden's attorney, said that the series of orders issued included Choudhury turning over a collection of 43 luxury supercars he owns, including 13 Rolls-Royces, eight Bentleys and three Ferraris.

Jafa-Bodden, 47, said in the civil complaint that Choudhury abruptly fired her from her six-figure position when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation made by another woman. 

Jafa-Bodden said in the civil complaint that Choudhury, pictured here leading a class in 2003, fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation 

Jafa-Bodden said in the civil complaint that Choudhury, pictured here leading a class in 2003, fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation 

The suit also said he inappropriately touched her and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite. 

She was awarded close to $1million in compensatory damages and more than $6million in punitive damages. 

'This is a good day for women,' Jafa-Bodden said in a statement following the verdict. 

The Oxford-educated lawyer and mother-of-one had worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013. 

Jafa-Bodden's suit claimed the yogi, pictured above in 2000 in Beverly Hills, inappropriately touched her and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite
Indian Yoga guru Bikram Choudhury instructs his yoga class as he stands on the hips of student Patrice Baal during a workout in a heated room in Beverly Hills, California on February 2, 2000

Jafa-Bodden's suit claimed the yogi, pictured above in 2000 in Beverly Hills, inappropriately touched her and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite

Guru: Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India, Choudhury, 70, has cobbled together an empire around Bikram yoga, which is taught at 700 studios worldwide

Guru: Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India, Choudhury, 70, has cobbled together an empire around Bikram yoga, which is taught at 700 studios worldwide

The plaintiff and her legal team are now in the process of trying to locate some of the fitness guru's property, including a diamond-encrusted watch and the fleet of luxury cars, which reportedly had gone missing.   

Jafa-Bodden's wrongful termination lawsuit is separate from sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse Choudhury of raping them.

Plaintiff: Jill Lawler filed a lawsuit in 2015 accusing Choudhury of raping her

Plaintiff: Jill Lawler filed a lawsuit in 2015 accusing Choudhury of raping her

The most recent complaint, filed in February 2015, accused Choudhury of raping Jill Lawler, a Canadian woman who was just 18 at the time.

Lawler used $10,000 from her college fund to pay for a nine-week class so she could teach Bikram yoga to others.

She said she went into the class elated, but things quickly soured as she was expected to massage him while watching Bollywood movies late into the night.

As they watched the films, he groped her, she said. He apologized but weeks later, he asked Lawler to come to his hotel room where he sexually assaulted her, it is claimed.

The fitness guru's attorneys have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him and that prosecutors had declined to bring criminal charges in those cases.

Choudhury told CNN in 2015: 'Women likes me. Women loves me. So if I really wanted to involve the women, I don't have to assault the women.'

In the same interview, he said: 'My wife never look at me anymore.' 

In December, it was reported that Rajashree Choudhury (pictured with him above in an undated photo), his wife of 31 years, filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences

In December, it was reported that Rajashree Choudhury (pictured with him above in an undated photo), his wife of 31 years, filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences

Raised on the streets of Kolkata, India, Choudhury has cobbled together an empire around Bikram yoga, an intense, sweat-soaked 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees.

The exercise technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn a throng of devoted followers, among them such A-listers as Lady Gaga, Madonna and David Beckham.

He contended at the time the judgement was given last January that he is nearly bankrupt.

In December 2015, it was reported that the yogi's wife's of 31 years, Rajashree Choudhury, filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences. 

FROM CALCUTTA TO CALIFORNIA: THE SUCCESS OF BIKRAM YOGA 

Bikram yoga classes normally involve two breathing exercises and 26 postures in a 90 minute class

Bikram yoga, named after and devised by Bikram Choudhury, is based on regular hatha yoga, but performed in 100F temperatures.

Fans claim that it not only leaves them stronger and more flexible than standard yoga, it also helps them shed weight fast.

Choudhury began practicing yoga in Calcutta at the age of three, spending up to six hours a day perfecting his poses.

At 13 he won the National India Yoga Championship and went on to devise the 26 'asanas' (poses) and two breathing methods that form the core of Bikram yoga.

He claims to have been invited to the United States in 1973 by now-former President Richard Nixon to help him improve his health through yoga.

He also claims to have taught yoga to Reagan and Clinton and has a legion of celebrity fans including Lady Gaga, Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and tennis champion Andy Murray.

Choudhury says Bikram works because the 100F heat loosens the muscles, helping them to go further than they would otherwise.

Yogis perform the series of poses, pushing their bodies to the limit, and are encouraged to drink vast quantities of water to replace that lost by sweat.

Teachers say that if it gets too much for students, they should lie on the floor or leave the room for lower temperatures.

Students, who carry a towel to mop up their sweat, are taught to watch out for danger signs including nausea, lightheadedness and dizziness.

 

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