An Indian-American businessman has been sentenced to 18 months probation and 200 hours of community service for accepting bribes and tax evasion, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Arman Amirshahi, 46, was involved in one of several complex and long-running bribery schemes in which co-conspirators Anthony Merritt of Capitol Heights, Md., and the Washington, D.C., Tax Bureau (OTR) former manager Vincent Slater. .

In order to further these schemes, four business owners – including Amirshahi, Charles Zhou, Andre de Moya and Daoud Jafari – paid Slater cash bribes through Merritt as an intermediary, to evade sales tax.

Merritt, a former employee of the Washington, D.C., Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, describes himself as a license and permit accelerator and introduces the program to business owners, an official press release said Friday.

To reduce bribe payments, Merritt communicated with business owners.

Merritt transferred their cash bribe payments to Slater and allowed Slater to maintain an apparent distance from them as he fraudulently reduced their liabilities or intervened on their behalf in OTRs.

Slater resigned from OTR in December 2017, ending those programs that had lasted more than five years.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the conspirators deprived the District of Columbia of approximately $3 million through their actions.

Each defendant was convicted for his role in the conduct.

Amirshahi and Zhou pleaded guilty to bribery in January 2019 and February 2019 respectively.

Slater, DeMoya and Merritt were charged in one indictment in 2019, and Slater, Jafari and Merritt were charged in a second indictment. Slater pleaded guilty in June 2020 following an indictment.

In June 2023, a jury convicted DeMoya and Merritt of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud. In September 2023, Merritt pleaded guilty to the second indictment in which he was charged. In October 2023, a jury convicted Jafari of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud.

Merritt was sentenced to 110 months in prison for his central role in facilitating the different conspiracies.

Demoya was sentenced to 30 months in prison for their respective roles; Slater was sentenced to 27 months in prison; and Jafari was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Zhou, the first co-conspirator to cooperate with the government, was sentenced to five years of probation.