Former Boston Police Auto Repair Technician Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charges

BOSTON – A former auto repair technician with the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) Fleet Management Division pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a scheme to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the BPD.

Bahram Gharony, 36, of Boston, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for Dec. 14, 2021. Gharony was charged on July 30, 2021.  

“Mr. Gharony embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in auto parts and supplies from the Boston Police Department at the expense of the public’s trust in his honest and hardworking law enforcement colleagues,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “Our office remains ready to prosecute people who abuse their positions and violate the public trust for personal gain.”

"While working for the Boston Police Department's fleet management division, Bahram Gharony has admitted he was also working for himself—orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that cost the city’s taxpayers more than a quarter of a million dollars. Mr. Gharony clearly knew what he was doing was wrong because of the steps he took to conceal his criminal conduct, but his divided loyalty got the best of him,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We’d like to thank the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Unit for bringing this to our attention and putting a stop to this practice.”

Gharony engaged in a scheme that allegedly defrauded BPD’s Fleet Management Division of over $260,000 in automotive parts, tools and supplies between June 2017 and September 2020. Gharony used his position to order parts and supplies that he purported were for BPD, but were actually converted and sold to others by Gharony. In an effort to conceal the scheme, Gharony submitted fraudulent and altered invoices to BPD for the parts, tools and supplies he falsely claimed were ordered for the fleet. Additionally, Gharony purported that he had lawfully purchased the items through a discount available to BPD when selling the items to others.

The charges of wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil J. Gallagher Jr. of Mendell’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.