Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SAAED MOSLEM and his father MEHDI MOSLEM were sentenced to 96 months in prison and 40 months in prison, respectively, for defrauding their lenders and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The defendants were previously found guilty of multiple offenses following a two-and-a-half-week jury trial in June 2021. U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel imposed the sentence in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This father and son duo spent nearly a decade lying about their finances to get millions of dollars in fraudulent loans while hiding their income from the IRS and, in Saaed Moslem’s case, evading his creditors through a fraudulent bankruptcy filing. Today’s sentences send a strong message that perpetrators of fraud will be held accountable and brought to justice for their actions.”
According to statements in the Indictment, evidence presented at trial and sentencing, other public filings, and statements in court:
From 2009 through 2018, MEHDI MOSLEM and SAAED MOSLEM conspired to defraud the United States by concealing profits relating to their car dealership, Exclusive Motor Sports, and other businesses from the IRS. To falsely lower their business income, MEHDI MOSLEM and SAAED MOSLEM, among other things, caused their accountant to prepare partnership tax returns that significantly understated Exclusive Motor Sports’ inventory. The fraudulent business income figures passed through to MEHDI MOSLEM’s and SAAED MOSLEM’s personal tax returns, contributing to a nearly $1 million underpayment in federal and state taxes.
From 2011 through 2019, MEHDI MOSLEM and SAAED MOSLEM also conspired to commit bank fraud by providing falsely inflated net worth statements and fabricated tax returns in connection with loan applications, including for a $1.5 million mortgage on the Exclusive Motor Sports property in Central Valley. SAAED MOSLEM then made numerous false statements to conceal his assets from financial institutions and other creditors when he filed for bankruptcy in 2015. As a result, more than half a million dollars of unsecured debt was fraudulently discharged in the proceedings. In 2019, SAAED MOSLEM committed aggravated identity theft by using a customer’s personal identifying information in connection with a fraudulent car loan application.
In addition to their prison terms, MEHDI MOSLEM, 73, and SAAED MOSLEM, 39, both of Central Valley, New York, were sentenced to three years of supervised release. MEHDI MOSLEM was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,040,685.58 and a $100,000 fine. SAAED MOSLEM was ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1,927,303.25 and a $200,000 fine.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI and IRS-CI.
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