Successful businessman receives prison time for tax fraud and bribery

April 20 :
A Washington, DC, businessman was given a lengthy prison term for his part in an elaborate bribery plot that cost the nation's capital over $3 million.

A 46-year-old man named Arman Amirshahi was found guilty of tax evasion by bribing a District tax official and was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 200 hours of community service.

In addition, he must remain under house arrest for the first year of his sentence, with the exception of employment, religious ceremonies, treatment programmes, medical appointments, and emergencies, for which he must notify the probation office.

The United States Attorney's office released a statement saying that Amirshahi was involved in the scheme with Anthony Merritt of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and Vincent Slater, a former manager at the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR).

Amirshahi, Charles Zhou, Andre De Moya, and Davoud Jafari were among the four business owners who bribed Merritt to help them avoid paying business taxes. Slater was involved in this scheme.

After more than five years of schemes, Slater decided to leave OTR in December 2017. The announcement indicated that the co-conspirators had stolen around $3 million from the District of Columbia.

The court found all of the defendants guilty of their respective roles in the illegal activity and mandated that they pay damages and, in some cases, give up whatever money they had illegally obtained. Merritt garnered a 110-month prison term for his pivotal role in enabling the individual plots.