‘Sunny’ Shah case cloaked in secrecy as convicted felon has not reported to prison

More than 15 months after being sentenced to federal prison for his role in an income tax refund check cashing scheme, a Columbus man remains free and his case is now cloaked in secrecy.

On Jan. 26, 2016, Sawan “Sunny” Shah, then 43, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land for his role in a scam that bilked more than $24 million from the U.S. government and has led to nearly two dozen convictions in federal court in Alabama and Georgia.

At the time, Land did not set a date for Shah to report to federal prison to begin serving his sentence, which also included three years of probation and the order to pay $1.375 million in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.

It does not appear that Shah has started serving his time, though no one will confirm that.

Three attorneys involved in the case refused comment on Monday when asked about why Shah has not reported to prison. Columbus defense attorney Stacey Jackson, one of two attorneys who represented Shah at the sentencing, referred all questions to lead attorney Jeffery C. Duffey of Montgomery, Ala. Duffey responded to an email inquiry with, “No comment.”

Michael C. Boteler, out of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., has been the lead prosecutor and he also declined comment.

The silence in the Shah case extends beyond the lawyers and into the official record. A number of filings since March 2016 involving Shah’s case have been ordered sealed by Land and unavailable for public review.

At least five times since last March, documents have been entered into the Shah case file and each time those documents have been ordered sealed by the court. On March 7, May 25, Sept. 9 and Dec. 7 of 2016 and March 9 of 2017, the prosecutor has requested that documents filed with the court be sealed.

“I very much regret what I have done,” Shah told the court during the January 2016 sentencing hearing. “I wanted to say to the court first I regret what I have done. It is not simple that I regret getting caught. I regret what I have done, and I’m very sorry for that.”

Shah, a naturalized citizen from Mumbai, India, who has lived in Columbus more than 16 years and owns a string of local convenience stores, was involved in cashing 567 fake income tax refund checks during 2013 and 2014. The checks totaled more than $1.357 million according to facts presented at the sentencing.

Shah, a prominent contributor to local political campaigns, received considerable support from local elected officials at the time of the sentencing. Then Sheriff John Darr testified at the sentencing, telling Land that he was a friend.

“I understand the gravity of anybody in front of a judge and especially in a court,” Darr said at the time. “And I know there’s a lot of things you have to take in consideration in this part of any kind of case and especially when it comes to the sentencing. All I wanted to do is make my comments really, really brief, in fact to — to the extent of that I talked to Mr. Shah. He is remorseful, and he regrets his actions. I know that. He’s taken ownership of that.”

Darr was defeated in November when he sought his third term by now Sheriff Donna Tompkins, who made Darr’s remarks in federal court a campaign issue.

The day Shah was sentenced, two other elected officials, Marshal Greg Countryman and Municipal Court Clerk Vivian Creighton-Bishop sat on the row with Shah’s family members. Neither spoke but did write letters to the court on Shah’s behalf. U.S Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Georgia Democrat, also wrote a letter to the court on Shah’s behalf.

This story was originally published May 1, 2017 at 7:21 PM with the headline "‘Sunny’ Shah case cloaked in secrecy as convicted felon has not reported to prison."