PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Federal prosecutors are giving up their effort to seize the Cabaret II strip club in Gresham.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland claimed the owner of the building, George Kiraz, fell behind on his restitution payments after he was convicted of various income tax crimes. Kiraz’s lawyer told the court he has made all of his payments and the government cannot try to seize the property to go towards $657,243.00 in court-ordered restitution.
“I have never experienced that before, where the other side agrees 100% with our position and walks away from the case,” Kiraz’s lawyer, Troy Sexton, told KOIN 6 News.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to dismiss the case after Sexton told the judge the payment order had a contradictory flaw. It ordered Kiraz to pay $500/month and at the same time said the amount was due in full. Federal prosecutors wanted a judge to foreclose on the property and allow potential buyers to bid on the building.
Kiraz was convicted in 2016 and ordered to make payments to the IRS after finishing his 36-month prison sentence. In January, the US Attorney’s Office also asked the judge to seize a home and a truck that belong to Kiraz.
“The judge already told them ‘no’ a month ago,” Kiraz told KOIN 6 News at the time. “I’m almost very certain that they can’t do it.”
Multnomah County puts the market value of Kiraz’s building at $1,292,680.00. Court records say he owns it free and clear. Federal investigators say the strip club business is owned by his ex-wife and she pays $8,000 a month in rent to Kiraz.