The U.S. Attorney’s
Office Eastern District of PA released the below link:
PHILADELPHIA— First
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced this
morning that former Universal Community Homes Chief Executive Officer and Board
President Abdur Rahim Islam, 62, of Philadelphia, PA; former Chief Financial Officer
and Secretary of Universal’s Board Shahied Dawan, 68, of Philadelphia, PA;
Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, 46, and his spouse, political
consultant Dawn Chavous, 40, both of Philadelphia, PA; were charged today in a
twenty-two-count indictment alleging a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy and
related crimes including bribery, honest services fraud, multiple counts of
wire fraud, and tax offenses.
The charges were
announced at a press conference held by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Williams,
FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Christian Zajac, and IRS Criminal
Investigations Special Agent-in-Charge Guy Ficco.
According to the
Indictment, the charges stem from criminal schemes orchestrated by Islam and
Dawan through Universal Companies which included thousands of dollars in bribe
payments to public officials and the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands
of dollars from Universal. The Indictment, summarized briefly below, describes
the various schemes.
“As alleged in the
Indictment, Universal Companies, including its real estate and education arms,
constituted a RICO enterprise, hijacked by the defendants Islam and Dawan to
engage in a pattern of criminal activity that spanned two states and several
years. In pursuing their criminal objectives, Islam and Dawan bribed public
officials, including Johnson, with Universal’s funds, and hid those bribes as
consulting fees paid through Chavous’ consulting firm,” said First Assistant
U.S. Attorney Williams. “These charges are based on a pattern of activity which
violates multiple federal and state laws including mail fraud, honest services
mail fraud, honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, obstruction of justice,
bribery, and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering.”
“What we have here is
four people pretending their motives were purely civic-minded, when, in fact,
they were unlawfully conspiring to enrich themselves,” said Christian D. Zajac,
Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “As
alleged in the indictment, Abdur Rahim Islam and Shahied Dawan stole nearly
half a million dollars from Universal — money for themselves, and to use as
bribes to further their financial pursuits. Councilman Kenyatta Johnson
accepted their payoffs and based his official actions on those bribes, with
Dawn Chavous providing him cover. The FBI is committed to fighting public
corruption at every level, and we would ask anyone with knowledge of wrongdoing
by public officials to call the FBI, or share the information online at tips.fbi.gov.”
“IRS-Criminal
Investigation is proud to have provided its financial expertise in this
investigation,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Guy
Ficco. “We, along with our law enforcement partners and the Department of
Justice, are committed to aggressively investigating individuals who engage in
corruption, tax fraud, or other types of white-collar crimes.”
Bribery
and Honest Services Fraud in Philadelphia
Islam and Dawan are
charged with engaging in a corrupt scheme in which Philadelphia City Councilman
Kenyatta Johnson and his spouse, Dawn Chavous, received payments in excess of
$66,000 in exchange for Johnson using his public office to take official
actions to benefit Islam, Dawan, and Universal, including but not limited to:
introducing and voting upon spot zoning legislation related to the Royal
Theater, a property formerly held by Universal, and blocking reversion to the
City of Philadelphia of another property held by Universal after it failed to
develop the property pursuant to its agreement with the City of Philadelphia;
Bribery
and Honest Services Fraud in Milwaukee
Islam and Dawan are
also charged with engaging in a corrupt scheme in which Michael Bonds, the
former president of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) Board of Directors,
received approximately $18,000 in exchange for Bonds using his official
position to take a series of official actions advantageous to Islam, Dawan, and
Universal, including but not limited to: advocating for and voting in favor of
Universal’s expansion of charter school operations in Milwaukee, motioning the
MPS Board to lease MPS property to Islam, Dawan, and Universal, motioning the
MPS Board to approve more favorable lease terms to the benefit of Islam, Dawan,
and Universal, and voting in favor of the more favorable lease terms;
Theft
and Embezzlement at Universal
Also according to the
Indictment, between 2010 and 2016, Islam drew significant sums of money from
Universal in the form of bonuses and travel or expense reimbursements, in
addition to his annual salary. Although Universal’s Board of Directors was
charged with reviewing and approving Universal’s financials and major
initiatives on a quarterly or annual basis, defendants Islam and Dawan used
their positions as CEO and CFO, respectively, to pay themselves bonuses without
the approval or knowledge of the Board. Islam and Dawan paid themselves annual
five-figure bonuses even while Universal was hemorrhaging money due to the
failed charter school expansion in Milwaukee.
The Indictment also
alleges that Islam and Dawan used Universal’s funds to pay Islam excessive,
inflated, or outright fraudulent reimbursements for “travel” or other purported
“business expenses.” Islam would pad his “expenses” related to the
operation of Universal, including its charter schools, with a variety of
personal expenses that should not have been reimbursed. For example, Islam
submitted his personal car insurance, political contributions, personal
vacations, and gym memberships as “business expenses,” which were reimbursed by
Universal and also not included as income on his IRS Forms 1040. Islam’s
“reimbursements” were reviewed and approved by Dawan outside the standard
procedures for Universal and without proper and detailed supporting
documentation. Islam and Dawan also authorized Islam to receive large sums of
“pocket money” or per diem from Universal. In total, Islam and Dawan stole
approximately $463,000.
If convicted as
charged, the defendant face the following statutory maximum sentences:
·
Islam: 303 years’ imprisonment; 3 years
supervised release, a $4,350,000 fine, and a $2,100 special assessment;
·
Dawan: 285 years’ imprisonment; 3 years
supervised release, a $3,750,000 fine, and a $1,500 special assessment;
·
Johnson: 40 years’ imprisonment; 3 years
supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment;
·
Chavous: 40 years’ imprisonment; 3 years
supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment.
The Federal Bureau of
Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division
conducted this investigation. The FBI and IRS received assistance from the
Department of Education Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States
Attorneys Eric L. Gibson and Mark B. Dubnoff are prosecuting the case. Trial
Attorney Ivana Nizich of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang
Section in the Department of Justice provided assistence.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
You can read about previous prosecuted Philadelphia politicians via the below link to my Crime Beat column:
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