Nemat Maleksalehi accused of a conspiracy in Louisiana
By Kara Chalmers
Saratogan Nemat Maleksalehi has been charged with conspiracy--and this time the charges come from the United States Attorney's office in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Maleksalehi allegedly conspired to defraud the federal government of housing subsidies, according to a one-count bill of information from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette dated April 6.
Maleksalehi, also known as Matt Madison or Matt Malek, 57, is a real estate magnate who lives in a beautiful hilltop home in Saratoga. He offered in January to build, fund and manage an indoor gym for the city. He owns and manages real estate in four states, including California through his Los Altos based business, Housing Network Inc.
Maleksalehi owns Acadian Manor Apartments in Lafayette. According to the bill of information, Maleksalehi received federal assistance for the apartment complex from about 1995 to 1998, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in excess of $10,000.
According to the bill of information, Maleksalehi "knowingly, unlawfully and intentionally misapplied property in the form of materials, labor and money worth at least $5,000..."
In March, Maleksalehi pled not guilty to similar federal charges of mail and wire fraud and money laundering by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. These charges say Maleksalehi collected $1.3 million in subsidies for a housing complex he owns in Pittsburg, Calif. Allegedly, this scheme lasted from 1991 to 1996 and again, Maleksalehi defrauded the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
Maleksalehi was released on a $1 million bond in April and is awaiting trial. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Jose in May and could be sentenced to a maximum 115 years in years in federal prison.
Also, Maleksalehi in February admitted to state charges of welfare fraud and felony grand theft in California. According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office, Maleksalehi stole $212,000 in housing subsidies meant for the county's poor. Maleksalehi is set to appear in state superior court for his probation formal hearing May 12. Maleksalehi faces up to three years in state prison for these crimes.
|
Saratoga, California Since 1955
