U.S. v. Sarihifard

Facts

Federal agents were conducting an investigation into alleged money laundering and drug trafficking at a small used car dealership in Arlington, Virginia. The owner, Ali Galadari, was a target of the government’s investigation. From 1994 to 1995, the defendant, a close friend of Galadari, worked as a used car salesman the dealership. The defendant was not the primary target of the government’s investigation, but the agents were seeking information concerning the defendant’s purchase and resale of a new 1995 Nissan Pathfinder. According to the government, the 1995 Pathfinder was purchased in the defendant’s name and sold two weeks later. The government agents theorized that the Pathfinder represented the profits of a drug transaction and that the defendant was simply a “straw” owner of the vehicle.

In January 1996, the defendant told the government agents that he purchased the Pathfinder for his own use and that he sold it to another buyer. After the defendant relayed his version of events, the agents called the defendant a “liar.” However, the defendant adhered to his story. The defendant told the same story to a grand jury. Prior to testifying, he was provided with Fifth Amendment warnings and explicitly told that he could refuse to answer any question on the ground that it might incriminate him. The United States Attorney informed the grand jury that the defendant had not provided truthful testimony and to disregard his testimony for the purposes of examining the possible illegal activity at the dealership.

During the following months, the government intensified its investigation and several people accepted a plea deal in exchange for admitting that the sale of the Pathfinder was consummated in furtherance of a money laundering scheme and that the defendant fulfilled a pivotal role in the scheme by acting as the straw owner of the vehicle.

The defendant was convicted of perjury based on what he testified to at the grand jury hearing. He appealed.