By Eileen Buckley
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-849200.mp3
Buffalo, NY – A 14 count indictment against a Clarence woman and an Iraqi-American was handed down in federal court Tuesday. 54 year old Deborah Bowers and Steve Shariff, also known as Steve Jabar, who helped establish a radio station for women in Iraq, face the federal charges.
Bowers appeared in a Buffalo federal courtroom Tuesday where the indictment was unsealed. Bowers and Jabar are accused of allegedly misusing some of a $350,000 grant from the United Nations. The indictment alleges that approximately $65,000 was inappropriately used by Bowers and her co-defendant Jabar to pay off personal loans. Bowers pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch stated that the Indictment alleges that the defendants Steve Jabar and Deborah Bowers, beginning in or about June 2004, used their positions at Opportunities for Kids International (OKI), a not-for-profit corporation, to fraudulently obtain a $350,000 grant from UNIFEM for the purpose of establishing a radio station in Iraq, when, in fact, they intended to divert tens of thousands of dollars of the UNIFEM grant money to pay their personal debts, expenses, credit card bills and property taxes.
The Indictment further alleges that Steve Jabar and Deborah Bowers attempted to cover up their unlawful scheme by e-mailing a fraudulent quarterly report to UNIFEM purporting to account for all of the UNIFEM grant money as having been spent on the radio station and by making false statements to federal law enforcement agents who were investigating their unlawful scheme. Finally, the Indictment lists several withdraws and other transactions from OKI bank accounts, resulting in money laundering charges.
"UNIFEM intended that the grant money would be used by the defendants and OKI to promote women's rights in Iraq. Although the defendants did establish a radio station in Iraq, they undermined the goal of the radio station by diverting tens of thousands of dollars of the grant money to enrich themselves," said Acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter.
Lynch says Jabar is wanted on these charges. But he was not in court. There is a warrant for his arrest.
"We've attempted to contact him to notify him of the indictment so he can voluntarily turn himself in", said Lynch.
Bowers was released without bail. Bowers' attorney Mark Mahoney called it a "cowardly" indictment against a caring woman who did an inadequate job of documenting her expenditures. Bowers is due back in Court August 4th for a status conference.
Lynch tells WBFO News this investigation has been going on for several years.
Bowers and Jabar, were the subjects of a WBFO interview in June 2005 describing their Iraqi radio venture.
"I have an organization called Opportunities for Kids International. It was created in 1995, a longtime ago, but with what is happening in Iraq right now, we had an opportunity to write a grant and support this radio station. We do have an office in Baghdad, an OKI office in Baghdad. We actually wrote the grant through UNIFEM. UNIFEM is the sponsoring agency that gave us the funds for the radio station," said Bowers in a June 2005 WBFO News interview.
Jabar was once the leader of the Iraqi House in Buffalo.
If convicted the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison a fine $250,000 or both.
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