Eghbal Saffarinia, Public Corruption, Virginia 2024

A federal jury convicted a former Assistant Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) yesterday for engaging in a scheme to conceal his financial indebtedness to a personal friend and government contractor.

Eghbal "Eddie" Saffarinia, 62, of Alexandria, Virginia, was found guilty of one count of concealing material facts, three counts of making false statements, and three counts of falsifying a record or document.

During a period in which Saffarinia received payments and loans from his friend totaling $80,000, he disclosed confidential internal government information to his friend and undertook efforts to steer government contracts and provide competitive advantages and preferential treatment to his friend’s company.

Saffarinia failed to disclose this financial relationship and another large promissory note on his public financial disclosure forms.

The scheme, which involved tens of millions of dollars in government business, was uncovered by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community.

Saffarinia is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19 and faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This conviction marks a significant blow to public corruption in the nation’s capital and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in government.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-us-department-housing-and-urban-development-assistant-inspector-general-convicted