Three brothers sentenced in domestic, international cell phone trafficking ring

Three brothers have been sentenced after operating a years long IRS fraud scheme and cell phone and mobile device organized trafficking operation.

40-year-old Kanan Mustafa, 45-year-old Jamal Mustafa and 26-year-old Nizar Mustafa each pleaded guilty and were convicted of conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation of stolen goods and conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims.

From 2006 through 2014, according to their guilty pleas and court documents, the brothers along with their other family members in the Mustafa crime family organization used stolen identities and other criminal means to obtain $20 million worth of cell phones and other mobile devices. The organized crime ring then trafficked these devices around the country and internationally.

The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office says the three brothers along with three more operated a baker’s dozen mobile device stores, using them to sell the stolen devices at substantial profits.

And then from 2010 through 2014, the brothers also defrauded the IRS by paying themselves in cash, failing to file tax documents or filing false documents.

All but one of the 21 members of the organized crime family have been sentenced, all of them pleading guilty. Their sentences include lengthy jail times and millions to be paid back in restitution.