Shahrir Loloee, Employment Fraud & Tax Evasion, California 2023

Granite Bay, California - Shahrir “Sean” Loloee, 53, of Granite Bay, and his associates have been charged with a 58-count superseding indictment for their participation in a massive employment fraud and tax evasion scheme.

According to court documents, Loloee is the owner of the Viva Supermarkets chain of grocery stores, and Karla Montoya, 42, of Sacramento, is the general manager. Mirwais Shams, 36, and Ahmad “Shah” Shams, 29, are defendants who worked for Loloee and Montoya at Viva Supermarkets.

The original indictment, filed in December 2023, charged Loloee and Montoya with conspiracy, obstruction of Department of Labor proceedings, and possession and use of false immigration documents. Loloee was also charged with falsification of records and a pandemic relief fraud scheme.

Thursday’s superseding indictment adds new charges for Loloee, including conspiracy to defraud the IRS, willful failure to collect or pay over withheld taxes, three counts of filing a false tax return, and three counts of money laundering.

Mirwais Shams and Ahmad Shams are each charged with conspiracy to defraud the IRS and two counts of filing a false tax return. Ahmad Shams is also charged with two counts of perjury.

According to court documents, beginning in November 2017, Mirwais Shams and Ahmad Shams used various methods to manipulate employee time data to lower Loloee’s on-the-books payroll, overtime pay, the federal payroll tax obligation, and the labor costs overall. This deprived employees of overtime pay and deprived the IRS of the payroll tax obligation that Loloee would bear if true hours were reported.

The superseding indictment also charges Loloee with three counts of money laundering fraudulently obtained COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. In May 2021, Loloee fraudulently applied for $2.2 million in COVID-19 relief from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program (RRF) and received $1.2 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath, Matthew Thuesen, and Kevin Khasigian are prosecuting the case.

Defendant:

Shahrir “Sean” Loloee, 53, of Granite Bay, California

Charges:

- Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371)

- Conspiracy to defraud the IRS (18 U.S.C. § 371)

- Willful failure to collect or pay over withheld taxes (26 U.S.C. § 7202)

- Three counts of filing a false tax return (26 U.S.C. § 7206(1))

- Three counts of money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1957)

- Falsification of records (18 U.S.C. § 1001)

- Pandemic relief fraud scheme (18 U.S.C. § 1349)

- Perjury (18 U.S.C. § 1623)

- Obstruction of Department of Labor proceedings (18 U.S.C. § 1505)

- Possession and use of false immigration documents (8 U.S.C. § 1324a)

- COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349)

Date:

December 2023

Sentence:

Awaiting trial

Amount:

$2.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds

$1.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds

$949,900 laundered through a trust account

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/superseding-indictment-adds-new-charges-viva-grocery-store-owner-and-adds-new