The founder of Midamar Corp. chose to “stand mute” when asked to enter a plea to the 19 counts of misbranding “Halal” beef products, wire fraud, money laundering and falsifying export documents in federal court Thursday.
U.S. Chief Magistrate Jon Scoles entered a plea of not guilty for William Aossey Jr., 73, of Cedar Rapids. According to criminal procedure, a defendant can stand mute and the court is allowed to enter a not guilty plea for him/her. Aossey’s trial is set Dec. 29 in U.S. District Court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Murphy told the court he wasn’t seeking detention of Aossey pending trial, but because Aossey travels internationally for business, Murphy asked that the probation department be given at least 48 hours notice of Aossey’s travel plans and itinerary. Murphy said he also wasn’t asking for any restrictions on his passport.
Haytham Faraj, Aossey’s attorney from Chicago, asked if Aossey had to get permission to travel within the country as well.
Scoles said it only applied to international travel. Aossey would be processed after the hearing and then released pending trial.
Jalel Aossey, William Aossey’s son and director of Midamar, said he and his brother were at the hearing representing the company but also to support their father.
“The charges are extremely disappointing,” Jalel Aossey said outside the federal courthouse. “These regulatory infractions were five years ago and we have met the requirements.”
Jalel Aossey said the crux of the case is a mislabeling issue. An improper plant is on the label.
“The beef was shipped, nobody was injured or killed … It’s wholesome beef,” Jalel Aossey said.
He said he couldn’t explain why this turned into a criminal investigation. Money was seized in 2012 from Midamar accounts and then returned, finding no wrongdoing.
“That’s a question for the government,” Jalel Aossey said.
Jalel Aossey alluded to Midamar official’s previous statement made last weekend that the government is targeting his father, whose ancestors came to Iowa in the 1880s and his family has resided in Iowa ever since.
William Aossey was the first Iowan and the first American Muslim to serve in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has received recognition for his company’s hurricane and disaster relief efforts, as well as the federal E-Star award for excellence in exporting in 1990.
Aossey has served on the Cornell College board of trustees as well as the Muslim Youth Camps of America (MYCA) board.
Jalel Aossey said he wanted to thank the community and customers who have reached out to support his family and the company following the indictment.
William Aossey is charged with one count of conspiracy to make false statements, sell misbranded meat, and commit mail and wire fraud; seven counts of making or causing false statements to be made on export applications; seven counts of wire fraud; three counts of money laundering; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment, Aossey conspired and agreed with others known to the grand jury to commit violations of law within the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture by covering up material facts by a scheme, make false and fraudulent statements, to make and use false documents, sell misbranded products and make false statements on export certificates.
He and others also are accused of generating a variety of fabricated certificates, including export documents that contained falsified information concerning the source and nature of the beef products, according to the indictment. The false certificates were created to show the shipments complied with import requirements of the countries where the beef was shipped.
If Aossey is convicted on all counts, the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, each count of making a false statement on an export application is up to three years in prison, each count of wire fraud is up to 20 years in prison and each count of money laundering, including the money laundering conspiracy, is up to 20 years in prison.