Former Boston Police Auto Repair Technician Sentenced on Wire Fraud Charges

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

Bahram Gharony, 36, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to two months in prison and three years of supervised release. Gharony was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $256,432. On Aug. 10, 2021, Gharony pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.

Gharony engaged in a scheme that 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.

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 prosecuted the case.