Former Memphis Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Facilitation of Theft
Memphis, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Revenue's Special Investigations Section conducted the investigation that led to yesterday's guilty plea of Yaser Alhalemi. Alhalemi, age 42, appeared before Shelby County Criminal Court Judge John W. Campbell. Alhalemi was partners with his brother, Anter, at Lucky's No. 3, a convenience store located in Memphis.
On July 8, 2010, both Yaser and Anter Alhalemi were indicted by a Shelby County Grand Jury on one Class E felony count of Tax Evasion and one Class C felony count of Theft of Property over $10,000. Anter was arrested and previously plead guilty to both charges on July 22, 2011. Yaser had been at large until his recent arrest on December 18, 2012.
Judge Campbell granted Yaser Alhalemi judicial diversion and placed him on supervised probation for two years. As part of the order Alhalemi was fined $500 and was ordered to pay restitution to the State of Tennessee in the amount of $3,468.65 in $500.00 installments.
"The Department of Revenue is committed to applying Tennessee's tax laws and policies uniformly to all taxpayers to ensure a level playing field," said Revenue Commissioner Richard H. Roberts. "The department cannot and will not allow people engaged in fraudulent tax activities to have a competitive advantage over honest business people."
Prosecution of this criminal case was pursued by the department in cooperation with District Attorney General Amy P. Weirich. Commissioner Roberts expressed his appreciation for the excellent cooperation the department has enjoyed with General Weirich. Citizens who suspect violations of Tennessee's revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).
In addition to collecting state taxes, $2.0 billion of local sales and business taxes were collected by the department for local governments during the 2012 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.TN.gov/revenue.
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