A man accused of drowning two of his sons and trying to kill his former wife by driving them off a Los Angeles wharf to collect an insurance payout was sentenced on Thursday to 212 years in federal prison for fraud.
Ali Elmezayen, 45, received the maximum sentence from a judge who denounced the “evil and diabolical scheme”.
“He is the ultimate phoney and a skilful liar ... and is nothing more than a greedy and brutal killer,” US District Judge John R Walter said.
“The only regret that the defendant has is that he got caught.”
In 2019, a federal jury convicted him of mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
The judge also ordered Elmezayen to pay $261,751 in restitution to the insurance companies.
Judge Walter was especially troubled by the fact Elmezayen had spent years planning the killings.
“In my view, this demonstrates the vicious and callous nature of his crimes."
Elmezayen, of suburban Hawthorne, California, bought life and accidental death policies worth more than $3 million on himself and his family from eight insurance companies between July 2012 and March 2013, according to federal prosecutors.
He paid more than $6,000 a year in premiums for the policies while reporting income of less than $30,000 a year on his tax returns, prosecutors said, noting that he began buying the policies the same year he exited a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Prosecutors said Elmezayen repeatedly called the companies to verify the policies were active and that they would pay benefits if his former wife died in an accident as well as confirm with at least two insurers that they would not investigate claims made two years after the purchases.
Elmezayen drove a car carrying Rabab Diab, and their two youngest children, both of whom had autism, off a commercial fishermen's wharf in the San Pedro area of the Port of Los Angeles on April 9, 2015.
It was 12 days after the two-year contestability period on the last of his insurance policies expired, prosecutors said.
Elmezayen escaped through the open driver's side window and his former wife, who could not swim, was rescued when she got out and a fisherman threw her a flotation device. The boys, 8 and 13 at the time, were strapped in and could not escape the vehicle.
The couple's third son, Elhussein Elmezayen, 20, who survived because he was away at camp at the time, spoke at the sentencing trial.
He accused his father of leaving them in "misery and poverty", and squandering his savings on his "low-life family" in Egypt.
"We wish my brothers didn’t die for your financial gain," he said.
"I hope you know I don’t want anything to do with you any more ... don’t call me, don’t write me," he said.
Elmezayen received more than $260,000 in insurance proceeds from two companies on the policies he had taken out on the children's lives and used some of the money to buy properties in Egypt and a boat, prosecutors said.
After the car plunged into the water in 2015, Elmezayen was charged in the federal fraud case and accused by local prosecutors of murder, attempted murder and a special circumstance that the killings were for financial gain.
The murder charges were listed to be prosecuted after the federal case.
"A bench warrant has been issued and our office is evaluating the next step," Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney, told the Associated Press.
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDual%20permanently%20excited%20synchronous%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E516hp%20or%20400Kw%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E858Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E485km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh699%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
How Sputnik V works
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
