Ex-HSI Special Agent Sentenced, Had “Corrupt Relationship” with Informant
A former Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent is headed to prison for charges stemming from his “corrupt relationship” with a concealed HSI informant.
Anthony Sabaini of Naperville, Illinois was sentenced to just over six years in prison after being convicted in May of illegally structuring financial transactions, concealing material facts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and filing false federal tax returns.
He was also ordered to pay over $93,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Corrupt law enforcement strikes at the heart of our system of government," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Jonathan Shih argued in the prosecution's sentencing memorandum. "When individuals in law enforcement break the law, it makes the job of legitimate law enforcement that much harder because it erodes public trust."
Prosecutors say while working at the Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois HSI field office, Sabaini maintained a “corrupt relationship” with the informant. Sabaini allegedly tipped off his confidant about investigations being conducting by other law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for which Sabaini was paid at least $50,000.
In addition, Sabaini allegedly stole money from HSI that had been earmarked for investigations as well as funds from drug dealers.
Prosecutors say Sabaini deposited $250,000 into a bank account by making over 160 transactions of less than $10,000, to evade federal reporting rules.
The former special agent allegedly lied on official HSI memoranda in 2017 and 2018 to protect his relationship by knowingly concealing material facts, including information that the informant had “recently engaged in unauthorized criminal conduct that Sabaini knew would have affected his suitability as a paid HSI informant.”
In 2021, a separate federal jury convicted Sabaini's partner, Fernando Zambrano, of lying to investigators during the Sabaini investigation. Zambrano, a former Palos Heights, Illinois police officer assigned to an HSI task force, received three months in federal prison.