Long Island Accountant Tried To Bribe IRS Auditor: Feds

EAST MEADOW, NY — A Long Island accountant was arrested today after federal officials say he tried to bribe an agent from the IRS.

Mohammad Sayeem, 42, of East Meadow, was arrested and charged with bribery of a public official. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison. He could also face criminal forfeiture.

According to court documents, Sayeem was being audited by the IRS last year to determine whether or not he under-reported taxable income. Sayeem met with an IRS agent three times at his home in East Meadow between June 17, 2019 and Feb. 16, 2020. During those meetings, officials say he made bigger and more overt attempts to bribe the agent in order to not face charges in the audit.

At the first meeting on June 17, 2019, court documents say that Sayeem said the agent could "help him out" with any tax liability that was found, and also asked if the agent could receive gifts. Despite the agent telling him no, court documents say that Sayeem gave him an envelope at the end of their meeting, which he said was a gift for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, since both were Muslim.

The agent reported the gift to the IRS, and then, under the supervision of agents from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, wore covert audio and video recording devices to the next meetings.

The second meeting happened on Oct. 22, 20219. Documents say Sayeem asked the agent if he could overlook some tax liabilities and said that he would give the agent a gift for "being a friend."

The third and final meeting happened on Feb. 19, 2020, at which time documents say Sayeem explicitly asked about bribing the IRS agent. Sayeem said he would give the agent a Michael Kors wristwatch and $1,500 cash in exchange for the agent falsely saying Sayeem owed no tax liability, court documents say.

The agent was instructed by superiors to accept the bribe in order to further the investigation. He gave Sayeem documents saying that his tax returns were accurate. In actuality, officials say Sayeem owed $30,000 in taxes to the IRS.

After receiving the documents from the agent, court documents say that Sayeem gave them the watch and money.