The owner of an Elgin Street convenience store was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of extorting thousands of dollars from his employees.
Ali Karimi, 47, was found guilty in June 2011 of criminal harassment and extorting almost $50,000 from two of his employees, as well as attempting to extort a third.
As part of his sentence, Karimi must pay $50,352 in restitution and comply with a DNA order. He is also now under a 10-year weapons prohibition, a staff member at the Ottawa courthouse confirmed.
During the trial, the jury heard that Karimi accused his Zesty Market employees of theft and threatened to have them deported to Iran if they did not pay him.
Employee Yashar Kablou gave Karimi $9,500, while another employee, Farzad Panahi, paid Karimi $37,000 in total.
Panahi said in a victim impact statement that the ordeal had left him suicidal.
Karimi’s lawyer argued before the sentencing that his client deserved to be sentenced to house arrest or probation, stating he did not use physical violence when threatening his employees.
But Crown prosecutor Riad Tallim, according to the Ottawa Citizen, argued for harsher punishment, saying Karimi exploited his position of power to terrify people who were new to Canada.