Former Yukon man arrested in UK more than 13 years after conviction

YUKON, Okla. ( KFOR ) – According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a former Yukon resident turned fugitive has been arrested in the United Kingdom.

Officials say 63-year-old Mehran Koranki was originally convicted in 2010 on mail fraud and money laundering charges.

In February of that year, a federal grand jury returned a 53-count indictment against Koranki, charging him with multiple counts of mail fraud and money laundering.

According to the Dept. of Justice, between February 2005 and March of 2006, he was the owner of two Oklahoma City companies which preserved, fixed and sold computer networking parts. Those companies had extended warranty agreements with another company called Nortel Networks, which is how the companies got replacements for broken or faulty parts.

In November of 2010, officials say evidence shown at the jury trial alleged that Koranki’s companies received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment through the agreement. The parts were then sold for profit, violating the agreement. After four days, the jury found Koranki guilty of 48 counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering.

After the verdicts were returned, and before Koranki’s sentencing hearing, he left the United States. He later sent a letter to the court in January 2011 that said in part, “I sincerely regret to inform you I am no longer in the United States and will not be attending the sentencing hearing.”  Koranki has been a fugitive since that moment.

On September 30, 2013, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Koranki to 156 month in federal prison in his absence. Koranki was also ordered to pay $6,010, 157.90 in restitution.

In November 2015, the United States submitted an official request to the United Kingdom government to extradite Koranki. In Feb. 2024, he was taken into custody according to an INTERPOL Red Notice after taking a flight from Doha, Qatar, to Manchester, United Kingdom.

“Those who seek to evade justice will eventually be apprehended and held accountable for their crimes” said U.S. Attorney Troester. “I commend the work done by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and United Kingdom authorities for their tireless efforts to bring this matter to a close.”

The Dept. of Justice says Koranki later consented to extradition, and on June 3, 2024, the U.S. Marshal’s Service brought him from the United Kingdom to the United States.

“No matter how far you run, or how long you hide, the U.S. Marshals Service will exhaust all available resources in returning international fugitives to face justice in the United States,” said United States Marshal Johnny L. Kuhlman. “The arrest and extradition of this defendant is further proof of the U.S. Marshals ongoing commitment to locating fugitives around the world. The bottom line is … we never stop looking.”

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