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Farshid Jahedi, former president of the Alavi Foundation, alleged by the U.S. to be a front for the Iranian government, was sentenced to three months in prison for destroying documents and obstruction of justice.

Jahedi, 55, pleaded guilty Dec. 30 to the two counts, admitting he was aware handwritten and typed notes he destroyed on Dec. 18, 2008, concerned “subject matter the grand jury” was probing related to financial transactions. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in federal court in New York.

“I want to show everybody that I regret my action,” Jahedi told the judge in asking for probation. “I want to show my children not to be disappointed in their father.”

In November, the government said in a lawsuit it filed in 2008 that it wanted to seize the foundation’s interest in 650 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story Manhattan office tower. The original case, which sought to seize the interest in the building held by ASSA Co., a company based in the U.K.’s Channel Islands, claimed the Iranian government’s Bank Melli co-owned the building through ASSA.

Accounts, Property

“The Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in a statement in November.

The U.S. government is also seeking to seize accounts and property the Alavi Foundation owns in New York, Maryland, Virginia, Texas and California.

The Alavi Foundation... >>>