There’s no shortage of news about powerful people behaving improperly, and now a former Housing and Urban Development official has found himself in the headlines following a federal conviction.
Eghbal “Eddie” Saffarinia, formerly an assistant inspector general for HUD, has been convicted of falsifying records to improperly directing government business to a friend’s company. Saffarinia worked for HUD from early 2012 until September 2017.
According to the Department of Justice, Saffarinia, 62, perpetrated a scheme to conceal key facts, including the extent and nature of his relationship with a “personal friend” who was the owner and CEO of an information technology company. The DOJ says Saffarinia received “payment and loans from his friend totaling $80,000.”
“Saffarinia disclosed confidential internal government information to his friend and undertook efforts to steer government contracts and provide competitive advantages and preferential treatment to his friend’s company,” said the DOJ in a press announcement. “Saffarinia also failed to disclose this financial relationship and another large promissory note on his public financial-disclosure forms.”
Saffarinia was convicted of one count of concealing material facts, three counts of making false statements and three counts of falsifying a record or document. He faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison.