| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Seda's residence, property auctionedASHLAND — The U.S. government today plans to auction off Pete Seda's former Ashland home that served as the headquarters of an Islamic charity chapter designated as a supporter of terrorism. The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc.'s house and property at 3800 Highway 99, which was seized by federal Department of Treasury agents in 2004, will go to the highest bidder during the 1 p.m. auction. A Chicago-area real estate firm is handling the sale for the treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which will hold the proceeds in a frozen account after first paying more than $9,000 in back taxes to Jackson County, said Tom Nelson, a Portland attorney who is the foundation chapter's registered agent. The 4,157-square-foot residence was built in 1973 and the property was assessed last year by county appraisers as worth $461,200. Nelson, however, said the property has deteriorated and likely lost much of its value. Pete Seda's son, Jonah Smith Sedaghaty, was in Ashland on Wednesday trying to remove some of his family's personal property that has remained at the house since the February 2004 raid by federal agents. "I snatched the last few things I could before the sale," said Sedaghaty, who added his activities at the residence were watched by security personnel. "I rolled in and these guys were looking at me thinking, 'Who are you?' " Sedaghaty said. "And I was looking at them thinking, 'Who are you?' This used to be my house. "It's all kind of weird," he said. Nelson said two large semi-trailers filled with the Seda family's personal belongings remained on the property and had to be removed. Seda and a former chapter partner, a Saudi Arabian public works employee named Soliman Al-Buthe, are international fugitives who face money laundering and tax-evasion charges. Seda allegedly helped Al-Buthe smuggle chapter donations of more than $150,000 in cashier's and traveler's checks from Ashland to Saudi Arabia in 2000. The tax evasion charge accuses the men of lying on the chapter's tax return to account for the smuggled money. The federal government has designated Al-Buthe and the Al-Haramain chapter as agents of global terror, but Seda has so far sidestepped that designation. Al-Buthe is fighting his designation in federal court. Al-Buthe and two of his Washington, D.C., attorneys are suing the government over alleged illegal National Security Agency wiretapping of Al-Buthe's phone conversations with his attorneys while Al-Buthe was out of the United States. Al-Buthe is believed to be in Saudi Arabia and government officials have said they believe Seda, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is in his native Iran. The United States has no extradition agreement with either country, but either man could be arrested on an outstanding Interpol warrant if found entering a country with an extradition agreement with the United States. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com. |
|
Advertisements
|
|
|
