Former mayor of Taylor sentenced to nearly six years in prison for bribery and wire fraud

DETROIT – A former mayor of the city of Taylor has been sentenced to 71 months in prison in connection with a pair of schemes that benefited him financially. Richard Sollars, 50, pleaded guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud after using campaign funds for personal expenses and accepting bribes during his time as mayor.

“As Mayor of the City of Taylor, Sollars pledged to best represent the interests of the citizens he represented and the voters who supported him. Instead, he used his elected office to award city contracts and spend campaign funds for his own personal financial enrichment,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. “The conviction and sentencing of Solarrs demonstrate my office’s commitment to ensuring that elected officials who put their own greed above their duties to citizens in the community will be held accountable for their breach of trust.”

FBI investigators determined that from 2016 to 2018, while serving as mayor, Sollars routinely “recommended to the Taylor City Council that Realty Transition receive the vast majority of the tax-foreclosed properties the city had or would acquire on land of her right of ownership. First Refusal (ROFR) program.” The program was intended for the city to redevelop the properties that had been foreclosed.

As part of the scheme, Shady Awad, owner of Realty Transition, a co-defendant in the case, then provided free home renovations and other valuable items to Sollars. The Justice Department says that during the course of the scheme, Sollars received items, labor and cash worth an estimated $85,011.73.

In addition to the bribery scheme, Sollars also used a campaign account titled “Committee to Elect Richard Sollars, Jr.” to pay for personal items. The DOJ says Sollars instructed his campaign treasurer to provide him with signed blank checks linked to his campaign account.

Solarrs would then use the checks to pay Dominick’s Market for catering services provided for the campaign. However, it was determined that Hadir Altoon, the market’s owner, would routinely issue false invoices for services that were never delivered. After cashing the checks, Altoon would pay Sollars with some or all of the proceeds from the fraudulent checks collected.

In total, Sollars received $70,362.98 from this scheme and other fraud schemes linked to his campaign account.

“The diligent work of the FBI’s Detroit Area Corruption Task Force, in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, resulted in the conviction of Richard Sollars, the former Mayor of the City of Taylor,” FBI Special said. Officer Gibson in charge. “This betrayal of public trust is a stark reminder of the importance of integrity and accountability in public office. We remain committed to upholding the principles of justice and transparency, and ensuring that such actions do not go unpunished. Today’s conviction of Mr. Sollars puts an end to a lengthy and thorough investigation into the administration of the former mayor.”