Thread: 3 Iranians accused of using charity to launder money for Ira

3 accused of using charity to launder money bound for Iran
By Guillermo Contreras
gcontreras@express-news.net

Three Iranians, two of them living in South Texas, have been indicted on charges that they illegally transferred more than $1.8 million through a Portland charity so they could invest the funds in Iran in violation of America's embargo with that country, according to court records and federal officials.

Najmeh Vahid, 35, of San Antonio; Hossein Lahiji, 47, of McAllen; and Ahmad Iranshahi, 53, of Tehran, Iran, are named in a two-count indictment returned in Portland, Ore., this week that charges them with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit money laundering, the U.S. attorney's office in Oregon said in a news release.

The indictment alleges that the defendants transferred Lahiji's and Vahid's purported donations totaling more than $1.8 million to a Portland charity, the Child Foundation, and invested the funds in Iran in violation of the embargo.

According to the indictment, Lahiji and Vahid, who are married, retained interest and control in Iran over a significant part of the transferred funds, yet claimed them as charitable deductions to reduce their U.S. income tax liability.

Lahiji and Vahid are to appear in court in San Antonio next week. Iranshahi is a fugitive, the release said.

“It is imperative that the donating public have confidence that charities providing overseas services are operating in compliance with all applicable U.S. laws,â€

I hope that they are looking at his Medicare records as well.


McAllen urologist, wife accused of funneling money to Iran
Comments 21
December 17, 2010 2:13 PM
Jared Taylor
The Monitor
A McAllen urologist and his wife secretly sent more than $1.8 million to Iran for nine years as part of a money laundering scheme, violating U.S. sanctions against the Middle East nation, a federal indictment states.

Dr. Hossein Lahiji and his wife, Najmeh Vahid, were indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., on counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Lahiji could not be reached at his McAllen office or home Friday afternoon. Calls to his cell phone went unanswered.

The 26-page indictment charges that Lahiji, 47, and his wife received tax exemptions for their donations to Child Foundation, a Portland-based charity that gives aid to other aid organizations in Iran.

The indictment also accuses the head of the charity, Mehrdad Yasrebi, allegedly pushed money meant for food and other aid to his cousin and a bank controlled by the Iranian government. Yasrebi, who is named as co-conspirator, was not charged in the indictment.

Also charged is Ahmad Iranshahi, cousin of Yasrebi and director of Child Foundation’s sister organization in Iran. Iranshahi, 53, is an Iranian national and is considered a fugitive, prosecutors said.

Lahiji and Vahid, 35, made more than $1.8 million in “purported charitable donationsâ€