Montreal businessman arrested in alleged tax fraud scheme
Reza Tehrani, 55, allegedly bribed tax officials
CBC News
Posted: Nov 15, 2012 2:21 PM ET
Last Updated: Nov 15, 2012 6:09 PM ET
The RCMP's anti-corruption unit arrested Reza Therani, 55, on 13 counts including conspiracy, fraud and bribery. (CBC)
Related
Authorities arrested the owner of a Montreal technical school and his wife as part of a larger investigation into alleged corruption at the Canada Revenue Agency.
Reza Tehrani, 55, and his wife Liora Suissa, 49, were arrested by the RCMP’s anti-corruption unit on Thursday morning and charged in connection with an alleged $6-million tax fraud.
Tehrani, the owner of the Aviron Institute of Technology in Montreal’s Town of Mount Royal, faces 13 counts, including conspiracy, fraud, breach of trust by a public officer and bribery of public officers. Suissa faces five counts.
According to a news release from the RCMP, investigators said Tehrani bribed tax officials to reduce his tax burden by $6 million and is believed to have conspired to claim tax credits through a scientific research incentive program.
In 2010, he told authorities he had been abducted while leaving work at the Aviron Institute and beaten by men posing as police officers.
At the time, he filed a complaint with Montreal police, but investigators said he was uncooperative and did not file charges against him.
Court documents show Tehrani faced multiple lawsuits over the last decade.
Tehrani and his wife are set to appear in court in December to answer to Thursday’s charges.
The RCMP investigation into allegations of corruption of CRA officials -- also called “Projet COCHE” -- began in 2008.
Share Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- Protesters march against GMO giant Monsanto in 430 cities
- Marches and rallies against seed giant Monsanto were held across Canada, the U.S. and in dozens of other countries Saturday. more »
- Electrosmog may cause health problems, group says
- A relatively new type of air pollution called electrosmog may be the cause of a variety of ailments, said the Quebec association to stop air pollution. more »
- At least 230 Rio Tinto jobs in jeopardy in Sorel-Tracy
- The company's management met with the union this week to present a restructuring plan that could result in significant job losses. more »
- Police ask for help in finding missing girl
- Montreal police are asking for the public's help in finding Gracia Younes, a 14-year-old girl who is thought to have run away last Saturday. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- 3 more suspects arrested in slaying of U.K. soldier
- British police investigating the savage killing of an off-duty soldier in London have arrested three more suspects. more »
- Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey
- Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Ontario man lost in Australian mountains has survival skills
- The sister of an Ontario man who disappeared in Australia's Snowy Mountains nearly two weeks ago says she remains hopeful he will be found, partly because of his training as a Canadian Forces reservist. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- 28 students strip-searched at St-Jérôme high school
- Has Montreal's reputation taken a hit?
- Normand Lester in critical condition after car crash
- Police ask for help in finding missing girl
- Montreal lifts boil-water advisory
- Dachshunds strut their stuff as UN bosses
- NDP MP Tyrone Benskin 'truly sorry' for not paying taxes
- At least 230 Rio Tinto jobs in jeopardy in Sorel-Tracy
- Pierre's picks: 5 don't-miss events in Montreal this weekend

