A man who was accused of driving off of a boat dock in San Pedro to kill his two disabled sons and collect the insurance money was found guilty in a jury trial on Tuesday.
KTLA in Los Angeles reports that according to a press release issued by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C., Ali F. Elmezayen,45, of Hawthorne, was found guilty on 14 federal felonies which include money laundering, identity theft, and mail and wire fraud.
Elmezayen is still facing two first degree murder charges for the deaths of his two sons, 13-year-old Elhassan and 8-year-old Abdelkrim, who were both autistic. In the second case, Elmezayen is also facing the charge of attempted murder of his wife, who was unable to swim but did survive after he drove the family off of a port of Los Angeles dock and into the harbor.
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Federal prosecutors allege that Elmezayen was an abusive father and spouse and coldly calculated a plot that allowed him to be free of both his family and solve his financial difficulties by taking out more than $7 million in life and accidental death insurance policies from eight separate insurance companies in eight months.
Prior to taking out the policies, Elmezayen had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Tax records offered in evidence in federal court indicate that he was able to make $6,000 in insurance premiums annually even though he only earned an estimated $30,000 per year.
Recorded conversations between Elmezayen and the insurance companies to confirm that the policies were active and would pay out or would be investigated were played for jurors.
Elmezayen did receive more than $260,000 in insurance payouts, which he used to purchase real estate in Egypt and a boat. Witnesses called by the prosecution told the court that Elmezayen also tried to get others to lie to authorities on the received payouts and claim that the money was donated to charity.
Elmezayen was arrested last November and has been in custody.
A judge is expected to announce a sentencing date for Elmezayen, who could be facing a federal prison sentence of 212 years.
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