St. Louis businessman Mohammed Almuttan had a lot to lose, and lose it he has.
In 2017, Almuttan was one of 35 individuals indicted in Missouri for their roles in a criminal conspiracy involving the trafficking of synthetic marijuana and cigarettes. The gist of the scheme was that the group bought cigarettes in Missouri, where they are relatively cheap, and sold them in Illinois and New Jersey. They also produced synthetic weed near Dittmer, Missouri, at a property referred to as "the Farm" in court filings, and then sold it at multiple convenience stores in north city and north county owned by Almuttan.
Almuttan and three of his brothers pleaded guilty to those charges and were sentenced last year. Almuttan and two brothers got four years in prison. The fourth brother got 46 months.
It was between his indictment and sentencing that Almuttan became the city's most prominent FBI informant in recent memory, aiding authorities in the investigations that in the summer of 2022 took down Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, Aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad, and county official Tony Weaver. He is very likely also the man who the indictment of former Alderman Brandon Bosley refers to as "John Doe" and who seems to have been wearing a wire when Bosley allegedly instructed him to commit insurance fraud. Bosley’s indictment came this summer.
But all that cooperation doesn't appear to have persuaded the feds to take it any easier on Almuttan and several of his co-defendants, at least not when it came to them taking their stuff.
Documents filed last month in the original cigarettes and synthetic marijuana case show just how lucrative the schemes were, as well as how much the authorities seized from Almuttan and some of his co-conspirators when it all came crashing down.
The government seized more than $2 million from Almuttan and other individuals involved in the conspiracy, money that was spread out over more than a dozen bank accounts as well as cash and Moneygram orders. The feds also took a small arsenal, including 19 handguns, four rifles and a shotgun.
Other items that had to be forfeited to the government included jewelry, Rolexes, 15 ATM terminals, 4,223 cartons of cigarettes, a Sam's Club membership card and a police badge.
All of that property and money was described by federal prosecutors as being "traceable" to the criminal conspiracy.
It is unclear exactly what specific items belonged to whom. The seizure did not apply to all defendants, though it did apply to all four Almuttan brothers.
The court filing does list some property the feds appeared to have seized but are giving back. Those items include $522 in cash as well as 38 silver half-dollars, 431 Kennedy half-dollars, and six Susan B. Anthony silver dollars.
Almuttan has not yet begun serving his sentence as he previously announced his intent to appeal his case and is currently free as that appeal works its way through the courts.
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