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Business owner sentenced for bribery and tax evasion
Amirshahi was part of a bribery scheme that duped the state of 3 million
Representative image / Image - Unsplash
A Washington-based business owner was sentenced for his role in a sophisticated and long-term bribery scheme that deprived Washington D.C. of more than US$3 million.
Arman Amirshahi, 46, was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and 200 hours of community service for evading tax by bribing a District tax official.
Additionally, he was ordered to spend the first year of the sentence under house arrest except for employment, religious ceremony, treatment programs or medical appointments, or emergencies with notification to the probation office.
According to a release by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Amirshahi was part of the fraud led by co-conspirators Anthony Merritt, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and Vincent Slater, former manager in the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR).
Merritt collected bribes from four business owners—including Amirshahi, Charles Zhou, Andre De Moya, and Davoud Jafari for Slater, who helped them evade their business taxes.
“Slater resigned from OTR in December 2017, concluding the schemes, each of which had lasted over five years. Through their actions, the co-conspirators deprived the District of Columbia of approximately $3 million,” the release stated.
Each of the defendants was convicted for their roles in this conduct and ordered to pay restitution and forfeit their ill-gotten gains, where applicable. Merritt was sentenced to 110 months in prison for his central role in facilitating the separate conspiracies
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