A woman convicted in 2013 of harboring an illegal immigrant for more than five years, including three at the Llenroc mansion, has lost an appeal to overturn her conviction.

In a decision released Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals also ruled the trial court judge was correct to rule that the woman, Annie George, must forfeit Llenroc to the federal government. George's attorneys had argued that forfeiture was an excessive penalty, but the appeals court found George's interest in multimillion-dollar Llenroc, a 30,000-square-foot home overlooking the Mohawk River, was about $100,000, substantially less than the $250,000 maximum fine.

Forfeiture is allowed by law in this case because Llenroc was where the crime took place for which George was convicted, harboring an illegal immigrant.

Whether Llenroc will actually be seized by the government is unclear. George's appeals attorney, Mark Baker, is described in media reports as predicting a settlement could be worked out that would allow George's family to stay in the home. Baker could not be reached for comment Saturday.

George was convicted in March 2013 of harboring an illegal immigrant as a servant from 2005 to 2011 in several homes, the last being Llenroc. The servant, Valsamma Mathai, a native of India, was in the country illegally. At trial, prosecutors presented evidence Mathai worked 17-hour days with no time off or sick leave and slept in a closet at Llenroc.

Officials testified the woman should have earned $317,144 working for George but got only $21,000. Prosecutors also presented tape-recorded phone calls between George and Mathai's son, recorded by the son, in which George admitted knowing Mathai was in the country illegally and instructing Mathai not to discuss her status. George was sentenced to home detention and probation in 2013.

In her appeal, George's attorney argued the trial judge made errors in instructions to the jury, evidence was insufficient to prove the crime for which she was convicted and the forfeiture order amounted to an excessive fine.

The appeals panel rejected all aspects of the appeal, writing in its decision, "The evidence of George's intent to prevent Mathai's detection by authorities was overwhelming." Although Llenroc, for which ground was broken in summer 1989, was built by the late Schenectady insurance magnate Al Lawrence at a cost reported to exceed $10 million, subsequent owners of the 15-acre estate have paid less than $2 million for it. The appellate ruling includes the detail that the George family paid $1.88 million in 2009 and four years later owed $1.78 million on the property.

Complicating the future of property is that Llenroc is technically owned by a corporation comprised of George family members, with Annie George as a minority shareholder.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Llenroc-mansion-owner-loses-appeal-may-forfeit-6107757.php