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Asjid Parvez, age 37, of Albany, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property in Albany federal court on Friday, Jan. 5.
According to prosecutors, Parvez admitted to receiving a check for over $972,000 from the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in May 2023.
The funds were authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and are meant to assist borrowers who have fallen behind on their federally guaranteed farm loans.
Parvez had previously defaulted on a loan that he had used to buy a Maryland chicken farm in 2014, prosecutors said.
However, instead of using the money to pay off his loan, he confessed to stealing the money by having the check deposited into a bank account bearing the same name as his lender, Horizon Farm Credit.
Once the funds were in that account, he quickly transferred them to other bank accounts before spending the money on real estate investments and other personal expenses.
Among his purchases, according to prosecutors, was an Albany residence for $202,000. The US Attorney’s Office has filed a civil action seeking to have the property forfeited.
The FBI has already seized more than $516,900 in stolen federal funds.
Parvez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he's sentenced in May 2024.
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