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A Cedar Rapids businessman convicted of mislabeling Halal meat will spend 2 years in prison. 74-year-old Bill Aossey, founder of Midamar, was sentenced in federal court Thursday morning on federal fraud charges. The sentence also calls for three years of supervision after release and a $60,000 fine. During the hearing the judge repeatedly scolded Aossey for committing perjury during his trial in court last year. Aossey’s conviction originally called for a 9 to11 year sentence. The judge cut the sentence due to Aossey’s age of 74 and the unlikeliness that he would commit another offense. Aossey was convicted by a...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Convicted Monday of most charges in a halal beef exporting scheme, Midamar Corp. founder William Aossey Jr. was put in jail while a federal judge considers what to do with the 73-year-old until his sentencing.Aossey was convicted by a jury on 15 of 19 federal charges involving the sale of misbranded “halal” beef products and falsifying export documents and certificates.The founder of the Cedar Rapids company, at 1105 60th Ave. S.W., was accused in October 2014 of falsely representing that the beef he was exporting to Malaysia and Indonesia met strict slaughtering standards.After a trial last week,...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Caches of guns and ammunition bound for Beruit were secreted among boxes of goods collected in a clothing drive for Syria and Lebanon organized by a Cedar Rapids company, federal authorizes said Tuesday. Authorities said they intercepted two shipments and seized more than 152 firearms and ammunition. It was not disclosed who the weapons were intended for in Lebanon. Three Cedar Rapids men and a woman were taken into custody and were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon to face charges of conspiracy and knowingly shipping illegal weapons. The four, according to a federal affidavit, are...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Corporate officers of Midamar Corp. and Islamic Services of America in Cedar Rapids were indicted on 92 federal charges Friday, involving mislabeling of Halal beef products and falsifying documents. Jalel Aossey, 40 and brother William “Yahya” Aossey, 44, both of Cedar Rapids, and each of the businesses are charged with one count of conspiracy to make and use materially false statements and documents; sell misbranded meat; and commit wire fraud. Their father William Aossey, 73, founder of Midamar, was charged with 19 similar counts last month. His trial was just reset to March 9. According to the...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa • A food supplier for several years falsely marketed beef to Muslims around the world as meeting strict halal standards, exporting products that weren't slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, federal prosecutors allege in a major fraud indictment.http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/u-s-says-halal-food-supplier-misled-muslims-on-beef/article_4555debe-2a67-56dc-a050-2c440a818e92.html