PORTLAND, Ore. – An Oregon jury has convicted a Texas urologist and his attorney wife of defrauding the government in a scheme prosecutors allege also violated a U.S. trade embargo with Iran.
They couple still faces federal charges in Texas that they defrauded private health care programs of more than $1.5 million in a trial scheduled for October.
Dr. Hossein Lahiji and his wife, Najmeh, were also convicted of conspiracy to engage in money laundering.
Prosecutors said the couple, of McAllen, Texas, gave more than $1.8 million to the Oregon branch of an Iranian children's charity that then sent the money on to Iran.
Prosecutors say the transactions violated the trade embargo against Iran. Their donations were used to make investments in Iran that they retained control over, according to the indictment.
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