Date: 08-13-2014

Case Style: United States of America v. Aamir H. Khan

Case Number: 1:14-cr-00417

Judge: Thomas M. Durkin

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Cook County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Patrick King

Defendant's Attorney: Anthony Joseph Ashley and Nicole Joy Highland

Description: CHICAGO, IL — A former executive of a bank in Bahrain pleaded guilty today to federal income tax fraud, admitting that he filed three false tax returns and failed to file a fourth return, resulting in a tax loss to the United States of more than $1.3 million over four years. The defendant, AAMIR H. KHAN, pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false individual federal income tax return at his arraignment in U.S, District Court after he was charged in a single-count information filed late last month. He also agreed to pay the United States a $724,000 civil penalty for failing to report funds he held in foreign bank accounts.

Khan, 48, of Doha, Qatar, and formerly of Naperville, was the managing director – head of private equity for Unicorn Investment Bank BSC in Manama, Bahrain. A dual citizen of the United States and Pakistan, Khan voluntarily returned to the U.S. to resolve the tax charges. He was released on a $200,000 secured bond pending sentencing on Nov. 24 before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin.

Khan faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and his plea agreement contemplates an advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines range of 30 to 37 months in prison. Khan made a partial restitution payment today of $300,000, and he remains liable for the total amount of back taxes and interest, as well as mandatory costs of prosecution.

As part of his guilty plea, Khan also agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury a civil penalty of $724,574, which represents 50 percent of the highest cumulative balance of five foreign bank accounts he maintained in the Middle East. The penalty resolves Khan’s civil liability for failing to file annual reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts for the years 2007 through 2012.

In pleading guilty, Khan admitted that he caused a federal tax loss of just under $1.32 million by filing false tax returns for 2006-08 and failing to file a tax return for 2009. Khan did not provide accurate information to an accountant who prepared his returns. He reported that he had earned only slightly more than $100,000 on each of the three returns he filed, when, in fact, his wages and compensation totaled approximately $518,394 in 2006; $801,390 in 2007; and $2,029,331 in 2008. Khan’s gross income was approximately $1,238,604 in 2009 when he failed to file a tax return.

The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and James C. Lee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.

Federal tax law requires that U.S. taxpayers pay taxes on all income earned worldwide and to report certain foreign financial accounts.

Outcome: See above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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