Three Cuyahoga County men were sentenced to prison Tuesday for their roles to carry out schemes to obtain millions of dollars from victims.
CLEVELAND , Ohio - Three Cuyahoga County men were sentenced to prison Tuesday for their roles to carry out schemes to obtain millions of dollars from victims.
According to the Department of Justice , a federal jury convicted the three men for their roles in a multi-layered, elaborate bribery and fraud scheme conspiracy that spanned multiple states and countries. In January, after a more than two-week trial, the DOJ said the three men were found guilty of the following:Conspiracy to commit honest services fraudThe three men were identified as Zubair Al Zubair, aka Zubair Mehmet Abdur Razzaq, 43, recently of Bratenahl, Ohio.
His brother Muzzamil Al Zubair, aka Muzzamil Ibn Muhammad, 33, recently of Pepper Pike, Ohio. Their associate Michael Leon Smedley, 57, of Cleveland. Multiple counts of wire fraudAiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Zubair Al Zubair was also found guilty of willful failure to file tax returns.
Judge Donald C. Nugent imposed the following sentences Tuesday: Zubair Al Zubair, 288 months, or 24 years in prison, with three years supervised release after imprisonment Muzzammil Al Zubair, 276 months, or 23 years in prison, with three years supervised release after imprisonment Michael Smedley, 97 months, or 8.08 years in prison, with three years supervised release after imprisonment Zubair and Muzzammil Al Zubair were also ordered to pay $19,202,017.98 in joint and several restitutions to victims, the DOJ said. Additionally, Zubair was ordered to pay $1,751,643.20 in unpaid taxes and interest in restitution to the IRS as a condition of supervised release.
The DOJ said Muzzammil was ordered to pay $308,498.08 in unpaid taxes and interest in restitution to the IRS as a condition of supervised release. Furthermore, the brothers were ordered to forfeit 70 firearms and a motorcycle they purchased with the money from their fraud scheme.
According to the evidence at trial, the brothers used their lies and schemes to obtain millions of dollars from victims, which were spent on a lavish lifestyle of luxury automobiles, designer clothes, expensive dinners, first-class travel all over the world and an arsenal of firearms. The DOJ said additionally, the brothers engaged in a corrupt bribery scheme to advance their interests with their associate Smedley, who served as chief of staff for the city of East Cleveland.
Smedley received and solicited thousands of dollars in current and future benefits in exchange for performing and attempting to perform official actions. This case was investigated by the IRS−Criminal Investigation and the FBI Cleveland Division, the DOJ said. The Al Zubair brothers shamelessly used the illusion of being successful high rollers to defraud victims, sway a local city official into doing corrupt actions, and engage in massive fraud.
We appreciate the work of the FBI and IRS investigators who painstakingly uncovered the layers of lies and deception, including attempts to defraud the Small Business Administration and not pay taxes. These lengthy sentences serve as a warning to others that we will not tolerate actions resulting from greed.
Cuyahoga County East Cleveland Cleveland Zubair Mehmet Abdur Razzaq Bratenahl Muzzamil Al Zubair Muzzamil Ibn Muhammad Pepper Pike Michael Leon Smedley Michael Leon Smedley East Cleveland Irs Fraud Fraud Scheme Irs Fraud Scheme Doj Department Of Justice Judge Donald C. Nugent Unpaid Taxes Tax Return Taxes Tax Chief Of Staff For The City Of East Cleveland IRS−Criminal Investigation FBI Cleveland Division
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