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Mahmoud Tajgerdu awaits his sentence in Washington County Circuit Court on Friday, May 30.

(Courtesy of KATU)

Mahmoud Tajgerdu came to court Friday with $35,000 that he hoped would help keep him out of prison.

It didn't. And he still owes much more.

Tajgerdu, 42, ran a food stamp fraud scheme out of his two Beaverton businesses -- a halal meat market and a gas station.

The theft, which authorities believe may have exceeded $1 million, occurred when Tajgerdu rang up phony transactions and charged his customers a fee to illegally exchange their food stamp benefits for cash.

As he bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal assistance program, he lived in a sprawling million-dollar home in the West Hills and drove a BMW 7 Series car.

He lived a lavish lifestyle funded in part by taxpayers, Washington County Senior Deputy District Attorney Bracken McKey told the court.

The business owner's greed corrupted his employees and customers, who acted as conspirators in his scam, McKey said. Several employees have been charged and convicted.

Tajgerdu's crime was different from many more common fraud cases, the prosecutor said. He was not drug-addicted. He was not down and out.

"The defendant had one motivation and one motivation only," McKey said, "and it was greed."

In March, Tajgerdu pleaded guilty to all 18 counts against him of aggravated first-degree theft and unlawful use of food stamps.

Tajgerdu had owned up, defense attorney Christopher McCormack said. Now, he wanted to pay up. That would only be possible if he remained out of custody, McCormack said, arguing for a sentence of probation.

"I didn't hurt anybody," Tajgerdu told the judge.

He and his family had earned their fortune, he said.

"I work hard every single day, 12 hours a day," he said.

Circuit Judge Suzanne Upton was not convinced. She imposed the maximum sentence of 16 years in prison, but she made Tajgerdu a deal: For every $10,000 Tajgerdu pays before his August restitution hearing, Upton said, she'll take a year off of his sentence until he reaches seven years, four months, which is the sentence the state sought.

In other words, he'll serve somewhere between seven years and 16 years, depending on how much he pays before his Aug. 21 restitution hearing.

Upton declined to count the $35,000 he paid the court Friday toward that deal. She said she believed he could come up with more money, but he needed incentive to pay.

His restitution amount and sentence will be finalized at the Aug. 21 hearing.

Tajgerdu was taken into custody after the Friday hearing. After the judge left the bench, he became indignant.

Tajgerdu said he would give nothing more.

"I want to go to jail forever," he said.

His wife approached the prosecutor and law enforcement officers in the room.

"Please help me," she said, crying. "I have kids."

-- Emily E. Smith