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BK owner pleads guilty
Plea deal calls for restitution, opportunity to avoid jail time
Published Wednesday, July 1, 2009
FRANKLIN—The former owner of six area Burger King restaurants pleaded guilty Monday to six misdemeanor counts of embezzlement in connection with her failure to pay the city’s meals tax.
Samina Azhar, the head of Azhar Holdings LLC, which owned Franklin’s Burger King, entered the guilty plea in Franklin General District Court.
Azhar had been facing 11 felony charges for failing to pay city meal taxes and one misdemeanor charge of operating without a business license at her Armory Drive restaurant, which abruptly closed last year.
According to City Attorney Taylor Williams, the plea deal called for the dismissal of five charges, and the remaining six felonies were reduced to misdemeanors. Azhar received 12-month suspended sentences on each of the six charges, contingent upon her payment of $68,776.42 in restitution to the city. She will also be required to pay a $100 fine for the misdemeanor charge of operating without a business license.
Azhar will be required to make monthly payments of $2,865 to the city starting Aug. 1. The payments are to continue for 23 months; on the 24th month, she will be required to pay the balance.
Williams said that Azhar, who is known to travel outside of the country frequently, was required to surrender her passport as part of the deal.
“There was some concern that she might leave the country and not come back,” he said.
Last week Azhar reached another plea deal in Isle of Wight County General District Court for failing to pay taxes at her restaurants in Windsor and Smithfield. She will be required to make monthly payments of $500 to both towns until the meal taxes she owes to each town — $13,501 to Windsor and $11,000 to Smithfield — are paid.
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Posted by sand2sun (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 11:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder what the chances are that she will actually pay this?
Posted by employee2 (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Seeing as though she doesn't have these stores anymore, what are the likelihoods she will pay this? And if she does not will she go back before a Judge and face time!
Posted by happy2 (anonymous) on July 1, 2009 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
She can sell her house for one thing and get something smaller or an apartment. I saw her house and cars, she needs to sell all of it. But, I have a feeling she has money put away outside of the United States like alot of people do. Which I am sure was not accounted for. However that does not mean she will pay it, it is just what she should do. Only time will tell....
Posted by bunita1946 (anonymous) on July 2, 2009 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A plea deal made to the detriment of the public. I wonder if the Cities of Suffolk and Chesapeake will be as naive about this criminal as Franklin. First Franklin they kept no records as to who had paid meal taxes and who hasn't. Then they accept this payback scheme. Why did the city manager accept this plan from the city attorney. People calling for a higher bond amount for an embezzller should really be pleased this insult to our criminal justice system. This person should be serving jail time.
Posted by mp18 (anonymous) on July 2, 2009 at 11:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Isle Of Wight County also accepted a plea bargain with this defendant, so Franklin was not the first. And last time I checked, the pay in jail was slim to none, so at least there is a chance that she may earn enough to actually pay down the debt owed. As to the city manager accepting the plan, most pleas bargains are between the lawyers involved, and usually have the best interest of the community in mind when made (which may or may not suit all or be completely understood by all). And if the article is read completely, jail time is imposed if she fails to pay as required. And one final point, at least the City asked that her passport be turned over unlike Isle of Wight, thereby limiting the flight risk.
Posted by hokiegirl (anonymous) on July 3, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In response to mp18 (jail time is imposed if she fails to pay as required) has anyone checked recent court convictions in this area? I am appalled at how many people are back in court as probation/parole violators, then receiving suspended sentences. When a person is sentenced for a crime and they receive jail time, most of the time they have to pull a certain amount of that time and the rest is suspended. If they violate their probation/parole they are brought back to court. At that point they should be made to go back to jail to finish out their suspended sentence. This is not the case in most of the cases I have been reading about in the court convictions. It seems they are given a slap on the hand once again, then set free to do more crimes. The criminals in jail should be made to do hard labor, such as cutting grass on state owned properties (of which Virginia is cash-strapped to afford these services). If made to work from sun-up to sun-down with no pay received maybe they will think twice about committing another crime.
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