A Kennewick man was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison for insurance fraud conspiracy for a staged car crash and then conspiring to obstruct an FBI investigation.
Ali Abed Yaser falsely accused a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and another person of soliciting a bribe in an attempt to stop the investigation of the insurance fraud scheme.
U.S. Judge Mary K. Dimke also ordered Yaser, 52, on Thursday to pay about $127,000 in restitution and a judgment of nearly $20,000. He faces three years probation after being released from prison.
She said that Yaser engaged in a “concerted and dedicated effort to undermine the credibility” of the FBI.
His actions “undermined the reputation of that agency and the community’s ability to have trust and faith in the justice system as a whole,” she said.
Yaser’s crimes were “serious, complex and highly orchestrated,” according to U.S. District Court documents. “Insurance fraud is a serious crime that affects society in the form of higher insurance premium.”
He pleaded guilty, as one of 23 defendants in the fraud case, to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; conspiracy to commit health care fraud; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; making false statements within jurisdiction of the executive branch; and two counts of mail fraud.
Attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Washington had asked for a sentence of four years and three months, and Yaser had asked for a sentence of two years and 11 months.
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