Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that IBRAHIM ISSA, a/k/a “Tony Issa,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 60 months in prison. ISSA was previously found guilty in December 2018 of bribery of public officials and tax fraud after a federal jury trial before Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon, who imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Ibrahim Issa bribed Postal Service managers with cash, lavish meals, gifts, and trips in exchange for lucrative vehicle maintenance and repair jobs on Postal Service vehicles. Then, to compound the felony, Issa evaded both corporate and personal income taxes.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, Indictment, and Superseding Indictment, evidence presented during the trial, and statements made in Manhattan federal court:
From at least in or about 2012 up to and including in or about August 2016, ISSA, who owned and operated numerous auto repair and maintenance companies in the New York area and elsewhere, paid bribes to United States Postal Service Vehicle Maintenance Facility (“VMF”) managers in order to obtain work repairing and maintaining vehicles belonging to the Postal Service. ISSA provided cash, gifts, lavish meals, and trips to these VMF managers in exchange for receiving work for his companies. As a result of some of these bribes, ISSA received millions of dollars in fees from the Postal Service.
In addition, from at least in or about 2012 up to and including in or about August 2016, ISSA conspired with others to evade paying federal income taxes for his auto repair and maintenance companies by misreporting income and expenses to the IRS. ISSA also signed and subscribed to false personal income tax returns. As a result of ISSA’s tax fraud through his companies and personally, ISSA failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes due and owing.
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In addition to the prison sentence, ISSA, 57, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $557,176.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service.
This matter is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle Wirshba, Elizabeth Hanft, and Noah Solowiejczyk are in charge of the prosecution.