SF Developer Sia Tahbazof Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud Charge

Developer Sia Tahbazof and his nephew have pleaded not guilty to federal charges of bribing San Francisco building inspectors and plan checkers with cash, meals and interest-free loans.

The 72-year-old founder of San Francisco-based Sia Consulting and SST Investments entered a not-guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as did his nephew, Bahman Ghassemzadeh, 39, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Prosecutors tied Tahbazof, his business partner Reza Khoshnevisan and Ghassemzadeh to a corruption scandal that began in early 2020 with the arrest of former Public Works head Mohammed Nuru.

The probe has led to indictments, guilty pleas and convictions of more than a dozen city officials, contractors and local business executives, including Harlan Kelly, former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Tahbazof and Ghassemzadeh were ordered released, without supervision, on $25,000 bond. Khoshnevisan’s arraignment is set for today, Nov. 20.

If convicted, Tahbazof and his associates face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

Judge Sallie Kim on Friday warned Tahbazof and Ghassemzadeh that violating their pretrial-release conditions would be considered bail jumping and could bring more charges. Tahbazof’s attorney declined to comment to the Chronicle.

Prosecutors allege the developer and his associates greased the palms of former Senior Inspector Bernie Curran and plan-checkers Rudy Pada and Cyril Yu to jumpstart building permits and pass building inspections.

The bribes included an $85,000 interest-free loan to Pada and free meals and drinks for Yu, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors accuse Tahbazof of bribing Department of Building Inspection employees since 2003.

Tahbazof also allegedly forgave $30,000 of a $260,000 loan he provided Curran and paid him $30,000 for conducting inspections, at a rate of $1,500 per inspection, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors also charged the 54-year-old Khoshnevisan, co-owner of Sia Consulting, and engineer Ghassemzadeh with fraud in the alleged bribery scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office allege both conspired to bribe Pada and Yu, while Ghassemzadeh allegedly bribed Curran.

Tahbazof, 72, is the most prominent local business leader charged in the alleged bribery scheme, which compelled the resignation of Building Inspection Director Tom Hui and spurred criminal charges against Curran, Pada and Yu.

He’s also the head of a powerful real estate family that owns, develops and manages properties across San Francisco. His children, attorneys Yosef Tahbazof and Sufi Tahbazof Hariri, run the Tahbazof Law Firm and Atlas Property Group, a property management firm. In August, Yosef Tahbazof stepped down from the city’s Assessment Appeals Board after allegations surfaced that he helped prepare a loan at the center of a corruption case against Curran.

In July, Curran was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges related to taking payments from people whose properties he inspected.

In August, Nuru was sentenced to seven years in prison. Structural engineer Rodrigo Santos received a 30-month sentence. A former Recology executive was sentenced to six months of home confinement.

Prosecutors also charged Chinese billionaire Zhang Li with bribing Nuru. Li agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement; his company, Z&L Properties, has agreed to pay a $1 million fine.

Pada, 68, of Millbrae, was charged this month with accepting bribes that included money, meals and more from 2003 until he retired in 2017, prosecutors said.

Yu, 41, of San Francisco, was charged with taking bribes that included cash, meals, drinks and other benefits from January 2018 until February 2021 in return for expediting and approving permits for building and construction plans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Pada and Yu have pleaded not guilty. Early next month, Pada has a court date to change his plea.

— Dana Bartholomew