United States v. Hassanshahi, Criminal Action No.: 13-0274 (RC)

• Court: United States District Courts. United States District Court (Columbia)
• Citation: 185 F.Supp.3d 55
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No.: 13-0274 (RC)
• Parties: United States of America v. Shantia Hassanshahi, also known as Shantia Hassan Shahi, also known as Shahi, also known as Shantia Haas, also known as Sean Haas, and Hasston, Inc., Defendants.
• Decision Date: 13 May 2016

185 F.Supp.3d 55

United States of America
v.
Shantia Hassanshahi, also known as Shantia Hassan Shahi, also known as Shahi, also known as Shantia Haas, also known as Sean Haas, and Hasston, Inc., Defendants.

Criminal Action No.: 13-0274 (RC)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Filed May 13, 2016

Frederick Walton Yette, Jeffrey Michael Smith, U.S. Attorney's Office, Criminal Division, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Mir Saied Kashani, Los Angeles, CA, John Patrick Pierce, Themis PLLC, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DENYING DEFENDANT'S SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE AND DENYING DEFENDANT'S REQUEST TO DISMISS FOR IMPROPER VENUE

RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant Shantia Hassanshahi is charged with one count of conspiracy to

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violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1705, and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. §§ 560.203 –204, commonly referred to as the United States' trade embargo against Iran. Mr. Hassanshahi previously filed a motion to transfer venue, for the convenience of himself and his witnesses, from this District to the Central District of California in Los Angeles. See Def.'s Mot. to Transfer Venue, ECF No. 69. The Court denied that motion on November 19, 2015. See Order, ECF No. 84; Mem. Op., ECF No. 85; United States v. Hassanshahi , No. 13–0274, 2015 WL 7307079 (D.D.C. Nov. 19, 2015). In its memorandum opinion, the Court also rejected Mr. Hassanshahi's claim—raised for the first time in his reply brief—that venue in this Court is improper because 18 U.S.C. § 3238 mandates that trial take place in Los Angeles. See Hassanshahi , 2015 WL 7307079, at *5–7. Thereafter, the Court permitted Mr. Hassanshahi to file a new motion addressing alleged factual discrepancies between the Indictment and the Government's surreply in opposition to Mr. Hassanshahi's motion to transfer venue. See Scheduling Order, ECF No. 87. That motion (ECF No. 89), and an additional response to the Government's opposition, which Mr. Hassanshahi styles as a "further request to dismiss for improper venue" (ECF No. 104), are now before the Court. Once again, Mr. Hassanshahi argues that venue is proper only in the Central District of California—where he was arrested and resides. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that venue is proper in this District under 18 U.S.C. § 3237(a), and will deny Mr. Hassanshahi's motion.¹

II. ANALYSIS

Mr. Hassanshahi's arguments involve the relationship between two venue statutes. The first, 18 U.S.C. § 3237(a), states that:

Except as otherwise expressly provided by enactment of Congress, any offense against the United States begun in one district and completed in another, or committed in more than one district, may be inquired of and prosecuted in any district in which such offense was begun, continued, or completed.

18 U.S.C. § 3237(a). The other, 18 U.S.C. § 3238, entitled "Offenses not committed in any district" provides that:

The trial of all offenses begun or committed upon the high seas, or elsewhere out of the jurisdiction of any particular State or district, shall be in the district in which the offender, or any one of two or more joint offenders, is arrested or is first brought; but if such offender or offenders are not so arrested or brought into any district, an indictment or information may be filed in the district of the last known residence of the offender or of any one of two or more joint offenders, or if no such residence is known the indictment or information may be filed in the District of Columbia.

18 U.S.C. § 3238. The Indictment against Mr. Hassanshahi asserts two separate bases for venue in this District pursuant to these provisions: it states that venue is proper under § 3237(a) because "[t]he conduct alleged in this Indictment occurred within the District of Columbia and elsewhere," and also that venue is proper under § 3238, because "the conduct alleged in this Indictment began outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or district of the United States, but within the jurisdiction

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of the United States."² Indictment ¶ 2.

Mr. Hassanshahi asserts two arguments for why venue is improper in this District and why this case must therefore be dismissed. First, he claims that venue in this case can only be governed by 18 U.S.C. § 3238 and that the Government's argument to the contrary, in any event, contradicts the Indictment's factual allegation that Mr. Hassanshahi's conduct "began outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or district." See Indictment ¶ 2; see also Def.'s Supp. Mem. & Mot. for Venue Transfer at 4–6, ECF No. 89 [hereinafter "Def.'s Mot."]; Def.'s Resp. to Gov't's Feb. 16 Mem. & Further Request to Dismiss for Improper Venue at 4–9, ECF No. 104 [hereinafter "Def.'s 2d Mot."]. Second, Mr. Hassanshahi contends that venue is improper even under § 3237(a) because his failure to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) does not suffice to show that the offense was "begun, continued, or completed" in the District of Columbia and, thus, provides no basis for his prosecution in this District. See Def.'s Mot. at 1–4; Def.'s 2d Mot. at 9–12.

Taking the second contention first, the Court rejects it because venue is proper in this District under § 3237(a). "Venue may be proper in more than one district," United States v. Lam Kwong – Wah , 924 F.2d 298, 301 (D.C.Cir.1991), and, here, Mr. Hassanshahi is charged with exporting goods and services to Iran "without having first obtained the required license from [OFAC], located in the District of Columbia," Indictment ¶ 1. Although Mr. Hassanshahi's failure to secure a license is admittedly only a part of the criminal offense with which he has been charged, it is a critical one. "Except as otherwise authorized" by a license pursuant to OFAC regulations (or by certain exceptions not relevant in this case), any exportation by a United States person of "goods, technology, or services" to Iran "is prohibited." 31 C.F.R. § 560.204. Therefore, "venue is proper here because of the alleged omissions that are part of the crimes charged (namely the failure to secure licenses for exports to Iran from OFAC)." United States v. Quinn , 401 F.Supp.2d 80, 87 (D.D.C.2005) ; see also United States v. Montgomery , 441 F.Supp.2d 58, 60–61 (D.D.C.2006) (concluding, in an analogous case, that venue was proper in the District of Columbia over the defendant's charge of exporting arms and other goods to Macedonia in violation of a Department of Commerce Office of Export Administration denial order because the defendant's "failure to ask for...