At least it's not more overtime fraud: BPD auto mechanic admits reselling parts he'd purchased through police accounts

A Boston Police Department auto mechanic agreed to plead guilty today to wire fraud for ordering Honda and Acura parts through BPD accounts, then reselling them to private mechanics.

In all, Bahram Gharony ordered and re-sold some $260,000 worth of parts between 2017 and last September, the US Attorney's office reports. He now potentially faces up to 20 years in prison.

Gharony was formally charged today and promptly agreed to plead guilty. He faces a hearing on Aug. 17 at which a judge in US District Court in Boston will decide whether to accept his plea.

According to the "information" filed against him, Gharony was hired in 2008 as a mechanic for the police Fleet Management Division, where he was responsible for the acquisition, maintenance and repair of BPD vehicles, a position that gave him the authority to order parts from local dealers, including Boch Honda in Norwood:

On or about February 19, 2020, GHARONY ordered auto-parts including two “lower control arms”, from a Honda dealership in Norwood. Although he purported to be ordering the parts for a BPD vehicle, GHARONY provided the dealership with a VIN for a vehicle not associated with any BPD vehicle.

On or about February 20, 2020, the Norwood dealership gave GHARONY several invoices totaling $576.82 that listed the VIN that GHARONY had provided to the dealership. To conceal the scheme to defraud, GHARONY whited-out the VIN from the invoice and submitted the redacted invoice to BPD for payment. Based on GHARONY’s fraudulent representations and course of conduct, BPD paid the invoice and GHARONY took custody of the parts from the Norwood dealership.

On or about February 20, 2020, GHARONY sold the parts he fraudulently acquired from the Norwood dealership to an individual who on or about the same day paid GHARONY approximately $540.00 for the parts over Cash App.

On or about March 23, 2020, GHARONY transferred the funds from the February 20, 2020 parts sale to his personal bank account at City of Boston Credit Union.

Gharony earned $82,385.64 in salary last year.

Innocent, etc.