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Choudhury was sued by his former legal advisor, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, who told the court that the 69-year-old sexually assaulted her while she was still his employee.
Jafa-Bodden, who worked for Choudhury at his LA yoga school between 2011 and 2013, also said her boss fired her after she refused to cover up an investigation she had launched into allegations that he had raped a yoga student. Choudhury denied all claims.
Choudhury, who owns a mansion in Beverly Hills and a fleet of over 40 cars, refused to tell the court how much he was worth, saying the lawyers would have to ask his accountant about the state of his finances, the LA Times reported.
He explained, however, that due to the accusations, his yoga business had suffered financially and that he was nearly bankrupt.
"I have to borrow money from my family and friends," he told jurors. "I have no money."
The jury did not believe the India-born guru, however, and on Tuesday ordered him to pay Jafa-Bodden almost $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to the nearly $1 million the jury had awarded her on Monday in compensation.
"I feel vindicated, I’m elated," Jafa-Bodden told the LA Times, describing Choudhury as "a dangerous, dangerous predator."
Six other women have lodged similar lawsuits accusing Choudhury of sexual assault. His lawyers have branded all the claims as "false".
One of these girls was 18 years old when Choudhury allegedly began sexually assaulting her.
Two separate Jane Does filed suit against Choudury, 67, and Bikram Yoga alleging sexual battery, false imprisonment, discrimination, harassment and seven others counts, according to Courthouse News. Both women, whose identities were not released, filed very similar suits on the same day in the same California courtroom.
Another former student, 29-year-old Sarah Baughn, filed suit against Choudury in March claiming he sexually assaulted her constantly during her time training to become a yoga instructor in 2005 and has since prevented her from teaching “because of her past and continuing refusal to have sex with the guru.”
In her complaint filed Monday the second Jane Doe claimed she had been raped in November 2010 after her boyfriend paid for her to be trained as a teacher a Bikram’s San Diego studio.
Choudhury created Bikram yoga in India before moving to the US in the 1970s. The practice consists of 26 poses performed over a 90-minute session in a room which is heated to 105F (40C).
The millionaire yogi is also known for his brash personality. He was taken to court by a former student in 2010 for saying “Women are bitches and whores. They’re here for one thing, and that’s to make babies.”
He also compared a former apprentice to Hitler and Osama bin Laden while equating himself to Elvis Presley and the modern day incarnation of Jesus Christ during a 2011 interview with Details magazine.
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