US v. Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, et al.
Ashland, OR

Al Qaeda

[DOR] In February 2005 a federal grand jury charged Al Haramain Islamic Foundation and two of its employees, Pirouz Sedaghaty (also Pete Seda) and Soliman Al-Buthe, with bank fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. Various branches of the Saudi-based charity were designated by the US in June 2004 based on evidence of the charity's ties to al Qaeda. The US-based branch of the charity in Ashland, Oregon, along with one of its directors, Suliman Al-Buthe, was designated in September 2004. A November 2008 ruling supported the US Treasury Department's determination that the Islamic charity was controlled by and provided support to designated terrorists. In September 2010, a jury convicted Pirouz Sedaghaty of all charges, which included a charge that he filed a false tax return and conspired to file a false tax return as part of Al Haramain's efforts to hide the trail of money. In January 2011, a federal judge ruled Seda could be released wearing a GPS Device constantly.

Related Topics: Prosecutions, Terror Financing

BACK