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Mail Tribune - August 5, 2005
Feds to drop charges against Islamic charity in Oregon
By DAMIAN MANN
Government attorneys will drop money-laundering charges against an Ashland-based Islamic charity because they have been unable to arrest international fugitive Pete Seda.
However, indictments against Seda and Soliman Al-Buthe — principals in Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc. — will continue to stand.
Kent Robinson, supervisory assistant U.S. attorney, said the government would prefer to proceed with the defendants here, and could re-indict the foundation if one or both of the defendants return. "It’s a shell corporation," he said. "The people behind the corporation are the fugitive defendants."
Robinson said it would be an inefficient use of government resources to proceed just against the corporation. The government’s motion was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Eugene.
The government alleges Seda and Al-Buthe conspired to defraud the United States, filed a false tax return and illegally transported about $150,000 out of the country.
Marc Blackman, a Portland attorney representing Al-Haramain, said he finds it interesting that the government took this action when his client was set to plead not guilty to the charges on Monday. This would have entitled Al-Haramain to a trial within 70 days, he said.
Because the clock on the trial would have started on Monday, Blackman said, "It casts doubt on the factual validity of the charges that were issued in the first place." Blackman said the government resisted an earlier effort by his client to file a plea in April.
He said he didn’t have any information about the whereabouts of Seda or Al-Buthe.
An affidavit filed on Aug. 2 by Colleen Anderson, a special agent with the IRS, states that Al-Buthe is living in Saudi Arabia and Seda, who left the country in February 2003, has likely moved back to Iran, where he was born. She also stated that she believes Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty, still holds citizenship in Iran.
Referring to Iran, which has strained relations with the United States, Robinson said, "We don’t have an extradition treaty with them."
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0805/local/stories/04local.htm
The Oregonian - August 5, 2005
Tax case ends against charity
By LES ZAITZ
Federal prosecutors said Thursday they will drop criminal charges against a defunct Islamic charity in Southern Oregon so they can save their legal firepower for two fugitives who ran the charity linked to terrorism.
Al Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc., based in Ashland, was indicted in February on two tax charges for its role five years ago in allegedly laundering $150,000 in donations to help foreign Islamic fighters.
Treasury officials last year designated the foundation a terrorist organization, linking it to al-Qaida. The Ashland foundation was affiliated with a Saudi charity with a similar name that also was branded a terrorist organization by U.S. authorities and the United Nations. The Saudi government has disbanded that charity.
Pete Seda, an Ashland tree trimmer, established the Oregon charity in 1997 with support from the Saudi operation. The charity operated a prayer house and distributed Islamic literature to prisoners. Seda, also known as Perouz Sedaghaty, was well-known in Southern Oregon for his moderate Islamic views and efforts to reach out to the community.
The indictment accusing the foundation charged Seda and a Saudi named Soliman Al-Buthe with tax crimes relating to the $150,000 in donations. The indictment said foreign donations deposited with the charity in Ashland were sent overseas by Seda and Al-Buthe to support Islamic fighters in Chechnya. The indictment said Al Haramain reported on its 2000 tax return that the money was used to buy a mosque building in Missouri.
Prosecutors said in court filings Thursday that Al-Buthe is in Saudi Arabia and hasn't been in the United States since 2001. Treasury officials last year listed Al-Buthe as a terrorist.
Seda left the United States in February 2003 after being questioned by federal agents and now is in Iran, prosecutors said in their filings. Both men remain "international fugitives" whom the United States can't extradite. Seda and Al-Buthe told prosecutors they would return if they were guaranteed they would face no additional criminal charges.
Tom Nelson, a Portland attorney representing Al-Buthe, said prosecutors offered to pursue no more charges -- but only if Al-Buthe pleaded guilty to the tax charges and accepted prison time. "That is absolutely not acceptable," Nelson said. He said Al-Buthe maintains his innocence and denies any links to terrorism.
Attorneys for the Oregon charity and Seda didn't return calls seeking comment, but Seda in the past has denied he or his charity had any ties to al-Qaida or terrorists.
Prosecutors said the criminal investigation is continuing into "more serious charges" against the charity, Seda and Al-Buthe.
They said it would be a waste to press the tax case against the foundation because it is a "functionless shell." Prosecutors said they also think such a trial would allow Seda and Al-Buthe to see the government's evidence against them. Prosecutors said they could refile the charges against the foundation if either Seda or Al-Buthe are apprehended...
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1123235753290520.xml&coll=7
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