Defendant sentenced to 36 months for fraud and witness tampering

Date: May 24, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Richland, WA – First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano, announced that on May 21, 2026, Ahmad K. Bachay of San Diego, California, was sentenced after having pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Bachay to a 36-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. Judge Dimke also ordered Bachay to pay restitution in the amount of $400,805 and forfeiture of $85,277.

According to court proceedings, in February 2019, the FBI opened an official investigation into allegations that Bachay and others were involved in a scheme to defraud insurance companies, obtain money and property by staging automobile accidents, and filing false and fraudulent claims with insurance companies. As part of the investigation, the FBI used a confidential human source (CHS) who covertly recorded conversations with individuals suspected of being involved in the staged accident scheme. The CHS provided information to the FBI regarding violations and suspected violations of the Federal criminal laws.

In May 2020, the FBI executed warrants to search residences in Washington and California for evidence of federal crimes. Following the execution of search warrants, a number of Defendants, including Bachay, attempted to identify who was cooperating with the FBI. On Dec. 21, 2020, Bachay, used the threat of physical force against a person, by telling “John Doe”, an individual who was assisting the FBI in an ongoing investigation, that Bachay would identify and kill a particular person’s family in Iraq if that person was working with the FBI. On Jan. 3, 2021, Bachay telephoned “John Doe” and accused “John Doe” of carelessly discussing the staged accidents with other individuals in the Iraqi community. “John Doe” later reported to the FBI that Bachay verbally threatened “John Doe” stating that he would travel to Eastern Washington to kill “John Doe” and “John Doe’s” family.

Prior to the grand jury returning the indictment, Bachay, his wife, and children, left the United States. Bachay was considered a federal fugitive until his arrest on May 17, 2024, in the United Kingdom. After 16 months of resisting his return to the United States, Bachay was extradited back to the Eastern District of Washington.

First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano said, “Staged collisions, like those involved in this case, make our streets dangerous, unnecessarily divert first responders’ attention and resources, and increase insurance premiums for all of us. Bachay’s attempts to undermine justice by threating to kill others and moving half-way across the world were unsuccessful thanks to our federal and state law enforcement and private industry partners who worked tirelessly to hold this fraud perpetrator accountable. This great resolution is a win for taxpayers and insurance premium payers.”

“Over the course of several years, Mr. Bachay conspired with multiple others to defraud insurance companies with false claims, risking the safety of those involved in the staged collisions while wasting the time and resources of first responders who should have been assisting people with real emergencies," said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. "Even worse, he threatened to kill a suspected witness and his family, then fled overseas for more than a year to evade the law. As this case demonstrates, staged auto accidents are serious crimes with real victims and real consequences."

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the National Insurance Crime Bureau. This case was prosecuted by Brandon Pang, Patrick Cashman and former AUSA George Jacobs.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.