SANTA ANA, CALIF.
Two brothers were sentenced Friday – with each being ordered to serve nine years and 11 months in federal prison – for their roles in a tax fraud and money laundering scheme in which they defrauded the Internal Revenue Service by filing fraudulent tax returns in the names of dead taxpayers.
Adam Amadeo Battani, who also goes by Ayman Ahmed El-Assadi, 42, and his brother, Sam Amadeo Battani, who also goes by Wissam Ahmed El-Assadi, 41, both of whom are Long Beach residents, were sentenced in federal court.
In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Judge Staton ordered the men to pay $841,423 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after their release from prison.
The Battanis each plead guilty in October to conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of government property, fraudulent use of a Social Security number, two counts of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court documents, over the course of approximately three years, the Battanis filed more than 200 false tax returns using the names and Social Security numbers of deceased individuals.
As a result of the scheme, the IRS issued a total of $841,423 in fraudulently obtained tax refunds.
The tax refunds were deposited into dozens of bogus bank accounts set up with the identities of the deceased individuals at Bank of America, Chase Bank, Union Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, and HSBC Bank.
The brothers transferred and withdrew the fraudulently received funds by making cash withdrawals from ATMs. They also wrote checks to themselves and to family members. The Battanis used the fraudulently obtained funds to purchase postal money orders, silver bars and coins. They also wired money to associates in Lebanon, Jordan and Denmark.
The Battanis started the tax fraud scheme while they were on supervised release after being released from federal prison in another fraud and money laundering case. In that case, which was prosecuted in the District of Nevada, they pleaded guilty to defrauding banks and merchants in Nevada out of more than $5 million.
Both Battanis were sentenced by a federal judge in Las Vegas in June 2011 to five years in federal prison.
During today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Staton imposed a statutory maximum two-year prison term for their violations of supervised release, which is part of the 119-month sentences imposed today.