Your tax dollars at work
Mike Levine of Fox News reports that the Director of the Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute at the University of Florida may have defrauded NASA out of “hundreds of thousands” of taxpayer dollars for personal use. A court affidavit says there is “probable cause” that the money was laundered in violation of federal law.
The FBI and NASA are investigating Samim Anghaie, 59, and his wife Sousan Anghaie, 55. She is president of New Era Technology Inc. (NETECH) in Gainesville, Fla. Charges have not been filed as yet.
Contract for the high life
Sousan Anghaie talked NASA into awarding NETECH “several fully funded contracts.” This included about $600,000 to develop and study uranium-related technology. But the FBI and NASA allege that in reality, Sousan and Samim used that money for personal luxury use. Among the purchases made were a $480,000 home, a 2007 BMW, a 2005 Toyota Sienna, a 2008 Toyota Corolla, a 2007 Toyota Corolla and properties for their sons. Then there was another $528,000 project. Wow…
Not surprisingly, federal agents have raided the Innovative Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Institute.
More accountability with contracts
Among the contributions Sousan sought was $350,000 in order to pay three employees (including her son and brother-in-law). However, it is documented that those three workers received no monetary compensation for their work. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether any of the proposed work they were supposed to be doing was completed. This, according to an unsealed affidavit, is just one of “multiple fraudulent certified contract proposals” the Angahies made to NASA so that they would receive “maximum funds” for their “research projects.”
Conveniently, NASA would directly deposit funds into NETECH’s corporate account. Then the money would be funneled into the couple’s personal accounts, according to the affidavit. Perhaps soon, Samim Anghaie and Sousan Anghaie will be funneled into prison.
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It is unclear whether the work done was completed? It WAS.
Every time we read about a brilliant career in science and technology has pushed the reset button in self destruction we are saddened. Does anybody know if the company actually provided real research, hardware, or software for their contracts? Did anything useful come from the company such as peer reviewed publications?
Oh, his institute was innovative…in the amount of hubris displayed. They didn’t even pay their employees for their work. I don’t get it – the man was a highly respected authority in his field, obviously a brilliant scientist. What could send him so far off the deep end?