A former investigator for the Waller County District Attorney’s Office in Houston faces a lengthy prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of attempting to distribute heroin and launder money. Mohammed “Alex” Ahmed Kassem, who was once tasked with upholding the law, was convicted on February 27 following a trial that spanned four days and included eight hours of jury deliberation. U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced his sentence of 121 months in federal prison, which will be followed by five years of supervised release, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
Kassem’s case stands out as he utilized his badge to facilitate illegal activities, transporting drugs and cartel money across state lines, and was caught escorting sham heroin along with the illicit monetary proceeds from Louisiana to Houston, and from Houston to San Antonio. He did this so, using a marked police vehicle. Investigations revealed he had transported the sham drugs and cash on at least three occasions in total and had received $31,000 for his unlawful services. The former peace officer went to lengths to conceal his operations, hiding money in his bulletproof vest and disguising the fake drugs in evidence bags to evade detection.
At his trial, Kassem testified in his defense that he believed he had authority to carry out such acts, claiming to have an implicit nod from the Waller County District Attorney’s Office for undercover investigations. This claim, however, was directly contradicted by his former employer and ultimately did not sway the jury. According to the Justice Department, the evidence presented against him included not only audio and video recordings but also text message exchanges and bank records linking cash deposits to Kassem's personal account after each transaction.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal issued the sentencing on the basis of the severity of Kassem’s crimes. "The sentence reflects the serious nature of the crime by someone sworn to be a public servant,” Hamdani noted, "Kassem was willing to use his badge for his own financial gain." Evidence against Kassem included various recordings and bank transactions corroborating his involvement in the drug trafficking and money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s statement detailed. Kassem remains in custody and will be transferred to a federal prison facility yet to be determined. The investigation leading to Kassem’s conviction was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Ferko and Heather Winter.
