Chicago – In a shocking display of greed, a father-and-son duo from suburbia have been sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating an $11 million tutoring scam that bilked over 100 school districts across the country.
Jowhar Soultanali, 62, of Morton Grove, Illinois, and his son Kabir Kassam, 38, of Wheeling, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud last year.
From 2008 to 2012, Soultanali and Kassam fraudulently obtained funds from school districts by misrepresenting the nature of their companies’ tutoring services and inflating invoices for tutoring work that was never performed.
The father-and-son duo also paid bribes to school officials and teachers to ensure the scam went undetected. The bribes included a Caribbean cruise for an assistant principal in Texas and a visit to a gentleman’s club for a state education official in New Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve sentenced Soultanali to six years in prison, while Kassam received a five-year and ten-month prison sentence.
The investigation, which involved the Chicago Public Schools Office of Inspector General, resulted in criminal charges against Brilliance Academy Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Babbage Net School Inc., as well as three school officials in Texas and one state education official in New Mexico who pocketed the bribes.
The companies, which contracted with school districts to provide tutoring services, received $33 million from over 100 school districts throughout the country.
Soultanali served as director of operations for Brilliance Academy Inc. and Babbage Net School Inc., while Kassam was the president of both companies.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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