On September 17, 2020, in the Eastern District of New York, Mohammad Sayeem was indicted for bribery of a public official. Sayeem intentionally and corruptly offered something of value to a public official acting on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with intent to influence one or more official acts.

According to the court documents, the IRS initiated an audit in early 2019 to determine if Sayeem underreported certain taxable income. Between approximately June 17, 2019 through February 19, 2020, Sayeem and an IRS revenue agent met on three occasions at Sayeem's residence. During these meetings, Sayeem made escalating overtures to the revenue agent concerning an illegal disposition of the audit. Specifically, on February 19, 2020, Sayeem offered to give the revenue agent a Michael Kors wristwatch and $1,500 in cash in exchange for the revenue agent to falsely certify that he did not have a tax liability due to the IRS. However, based on the results of the audit, Sayeem owed approximately $30,000 to the IRS. After Sayeem received fictitious documentation reflecting the tax liability elimination, he gave the revenue agent the wristwatch and cash.

The charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D.N.Y., Indict., filed September 17, 2020, and E.D.N.Y., Letter, filed September 23, 2020.