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District resident Davoud Jafari, 72, was found guilty of bribery, conspiracy, and wire-fraud offenses following a scheme where he bribed former DC Tax Official Vincent Slater to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes related to the operation of Zeba Bar and Grill in Columbia Heights.
According to prosecutors, between October 2012 and December 2017, Jafari collected 10 percent of purchases for sales and tax purposes, which were supposed to be turned over to the District on a monthly basis.
Instead, Jafari would write checks to a middleman, Anthony Merritt, for approximately half of what was actually due, and those checks were cashed and the proceeds were shared with Slater.
In exchange, Slater would falsify records for Jafari and help his company, Gevani, Inc., evade collection efforts from other officials.
Merritt pleaded guilty in June to similar charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in January. Slater previously pleaded guilty to his role in both Jafari's scheme and a separate scam and is awaiting his sentencing.
"Today’s verdict, and the investigation that preceded it, demonstrate the US Attorney’s Office’s unwavering commitment to prosecuting and holding accountable individuals who seek to corrupt our local government agencies by bribing the public officials who work within them,” said US Attorney Matthew Graves said.
“The defendants in these cases entered multiyear conspiracies to defraud the District of Columbia and its citizens."
When he is sentenced in January 2024, Jafari will face up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge.
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