SACRAMENTO, CA - The spiritual leader of Stockton's largest mosque will offer receipts from Lowe's and Home Depot in his fight to avoid deportation over fraudulent tax returns.
Saeed Ur Rahman, imam of the Islamic Center of Stockton, was convicted last year of filing false federal tax returns in 2005 and 2006.
The US Attorney's office is recommending a 15-month prison term based on a loss to the IRS of $47,000.
Tax evasion with a loss to the government exceeding $10,000 or resulting in a prison sentence of one year or longer is considered an aggravated felony for immigration purposes.
The penalty would automatically trigger expulsion from the United States because Ur Rahman, 45, is not a US citizen.
A pre-sentence hearing in Sacramento federal court Sept. 27 will formally establish the treasury's dollar loss, which was not considered by the jury that convicted Ur Rahman last October.
Ur Rahman failed to report two taxable real estate transactions on his personal returns for tax years 2004 and 2005.
Evidence presented at trial showed the total amount of underreported income for the two years was $238,000.
According to a memo filed with the court this week by the prosecution, Ur Rahman will present documents and receipts from home improvement stores and other suppliers in an effort to reduce the amount of taxable gain.
In his response, the prosecutor called the evidence "wanting."
Ur Rahman's attorney, Mark Reichel, has asked the court to impose 11 months of house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service based on a dollar loss under $10,000.
Ur Rahman's wife and five children are all US citizens, but Ur Rahman's citizenship application stalled in 2001 for unknown reasons.
by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net
News10/KXTV