It's now up to a jury to decide whether the co-founder of a defunct Islamic charity in Ashland is guilty of defrauding the government and filing a false tax return.

Attorneys for the U.S. government delivered closing arguments in their case against Pete Seda in Federal Court in Eugene.
Prosecutor Charles Gorder told a jury of 4 men and 8 women to use their common sense and follow the money in considering expert testimony and the numerous documents in the case.

The prosecution says Seda knowingly funneled $150,000 through the Al Haramain Islamic Charity to Saudi Arabia to fund Mujahadeen fighters in Chechnya in 2000.

In his closing, Defense Attorney Steven Wax asked jurors to consider the testimony of those closest to Seda who know him as a man of peace, active in the Ashland community, who spoke out against war and violence.

If found guilty, Seda could face up to 8 years in prison.

September 08, 2010, OPB News