Second Wayne County employee charged in federal investigation

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Zayd Alleban is the second Wayne County employee charged in a federal probe of a shakedown scheme.

On Thursday, his boss, the former county chief information officer, Tahir Kazmi turned himself in.

He’s accused of extortion, bribery and obstruction of justice. That last charge is what Allebban, 33, now faces.

Allebban, who worked in the county’s IT department, said no words in front of Judge Steven Whalen, instead letting his attorney Jeffery Edison do the talking.

Federal agents believe Allebban and Kazmi pressured a county vendor to lie about bribes… which amounted to thousands of dollars the vendor allegedly gave Kazmi.

The criminal complaint accuses Kazmi of extorting as much as $90,000 along with expensive trips to Turkey, Hawaii and Florida.

As for Allebban, federal investigators say he tried to convince the vendor to say those gifts were loans, and when the probe got too close, he handed some of the cash back to cover it up.

Allebban is free on $10,000 unsecured bond, but he is expected back in court on March 9. Neither Allebban nor his attorney offered any comment as they left court.