USA v. Yasrebi, Mehrdad
Portland, OR

Hizballah

[DOR] Mehrdad Yasrebi illegally funneled millions of dollars from his charity, the Child Foundation, to poor children in Iran in violation of the U.S. trade embargo against the Islamic Republic. According to the government sentencing memo, some of the money sent to Iran ended up funding Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, "a member of the Iranian clerical establishment and a vocal Hezbollah supporter." In March 2012, a federal judge fined the charity $50,000 and put the nonprofit on probation for two years. Yesrabi was sentenced to five years of probation -- the first year in home detention -- and a $50,000 fine.

Related Topics: Prosecutions, Terror Financing