and also stealing $10,000 in US government funds.
Prosecutors said Safarha operated a hawala, a system whereby people transfer money to another country by paying cash to a person, the hawaladar, who then arranges for the money to be paid in the other country. As long as equal amounts are transferred both ways, no money needs to pass through the banking system between any two countries.
Hawalas are illegal in the United States because they can be used to evade taxes and banking requirements.
Safarha faced as much as 20 years in prison, but Federal District Judge Richard Sullivan in New York noted that Safarha, 56, had no criminal record, was not implicated in terrorism, and had struggled to support his family since fleeing to the United States after the 1979 revolution. “In the grand scheme of things, that’s a break,” the judge said. “I hope you learn from this and you continue to be a good father, a good husband.”
Safarha operated the hawala in 2007 and 2008. When the US government got wind of it, it sent an agent to ply him with funds to gather evidence. The prosecution said the agent described the money he wanted to transfer to Iran as stolen property. The prosecution said Safarha proceeded to steal $10,000 of that money before transferring the rest.
