February 23, 2021
A New York federal judge has once again ripped prosecutors in a botched sanctions violations case, finding that U.S. Department of Justice attorneys not only tried to cover up evidence mishandling, but also fought to include evidence inappropriately uncovered by the FBI.
February 17, 2021
A Manhattan federal judge concluded Wednesday that federal prosecutors didn't knowingly withhold potentially exculpatory evidence in a now-dismissed case accusing a businessman of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran but urged the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate prosecutorial misconduct in the case.
November 02, 2020
New York federal prosecutors admitted on Friday to "substantial failures" in their handling of potentially exculpatory evidence in a now-dismissed case accusing a businessman of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, but denied that those mistakes were in any way intentional.
September 16, 2020
A Manhattan federal judge issued a blistering critique of prosecutors Wednesday for misleading the court about the disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence in a case against a businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, ordering two Southern District of New York unit chiefs and all the line prosecutors in the case to answer questions under penalty of perjury.
July 17, 2020
A New York federal judge on Friday vacated the guilty verdict of an Iranian businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions and axed the indictment against him, citing no opposition from prosecutors who've acknowledged disclosure and evidence issues in the case.
June 10, 2020
A New York federal judge demanded answers Tuesday from prosecutors who just dropped their criminal case against an Iranian businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions, saying a number of developments have "raised serious concerns about the conduct of the government."
June 08, 2020
New York federal prosecutors on Friday abruptly gave up on their case against Iranian entrepreneur Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad for violating U.S. sanctions, despite a jury conviction in March, citing disputes over evidence disclosure.
March 16, 2020
A New York federal judge on Monday took the unprecedented step of allowing an ill juror to videoconference into deliberations in the U.S. sanctions trial of Iranian businessman Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, overruling prosecutors who said the arrangement could taint the case.
March 12, 2020
Prosecutors sought to drive home their case Thursday to a jury weighing the fate of an Iranian businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions, saying email evidence shows that he was hiding behind front companies to receive millions of dollars from a Venezuelan construction project for an Iranian company owned by his father.
March 11, 2020
Prosecutors on Wednesday sought to impugn the credibility of an Iranian businessman accused of defying U.S. sanctions by illegally funneling more than $115 million through the U.S. financial system, targeting prior statements about his fear of the Iranian government.