New York Paralegal Blog

The Justice Department announced that Zarein Ahmedzay, a U.S. citizen and resident of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of New York to terrorism violations stemming from, among other activities, his role in an al-Qaeda plot to conduct coordinated suicide bombings on New York’s subway system in September 2009. At a hearing this afternoon before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold, Ahmedzay, 25, pleaded guilty to the following violations: conspiracy to use a weapon of mass of destruction (explosive bombs) against persons or property in the United States; conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country; and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, namely al-Qaeda. Ahmedzay faces a sentence of up to life in prison.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of the owner of Subway franchises for stealing sales tax; evading personal income tax and fraudulently receiving Medicaid benefits. In addition to jail time, the defendant’s sentence will include nearly $1.5 million in restitution, interest and penalties. “This case illustrates how City and State revenues are lost through this type of pervasive fraud,” said District Attorney Vance. “The honest taxpayers of New York were thrice victimized -- once by theft of sales tax paid by customers, then by shouldering the tax burden while the defendant evaded payment and finally by providing free health insurance to the defendant, who did not qualify.”