US v. Mr. V (DMC No. 16108) – Federal Felony Assisting a Terrorist Organization, Federal Felony Bank and Wire Fraud ($90,000), and Federal Felony Money Laundering – Not Charged (Due to Cooperation Deal) – Federal Bureau of Investigation and Ohio/Arizona United States Attorney Offices Investigated
Mr. V was in the metro Phoenix area. He is originally from Iran, and was a devout Muslim. He had been raising funds for the Red Crescent (a middle east version of the Red Cross), and he had been accepting donations from the Muslim Brotherhood via wire transactions, and he would then transfer over to the Red Crescent organization.
The FBI had been following a suspected terrorist, and they found that this person visited Mr. V’s house on a regular basis. The FBI then secured Search Warrants and they Wiretapped Mr. V’s house with both audio and visual cameras. At some point, a meeting was held between this suspect and Mr. V, and the FBI were making claims that they were discussing funneling money to known terrorist organizations. Mr. V was contacted by FBI agents, and that’s when he secured the services of DM Cantor.
After gathering all of the facts, we agreed to a “Proffer” and a “Free Talk” Cooperation Deal that was to take place at the United States Attorney’s Office. We were able to show that Mr. V sincerely believed that he was raising money for a humanitarian organization. However, he did also agree to Cooperate in providing all information, emails, correspondence, and receipts related to his activities. He also provided the names of all the other individuals who had been involved in any of these transactions. Due to his Cooperation, the United States Attorney’s Office in both Ohio and Arizona agreed to “Turn Down” any Charges against Mr. V. Had he been Charged and Convicted, he could have spent Decades in a Federal Penitentiary.
