Former FBI agent found guilty of accepting bribes paid by corrupt 'lawyer'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Bay Area man and former FBI special agent was found guilty Tuesday of conspiring to accept at least $150,000 in cash bribes and other items in exchange for providing sensitive law enforcement information to a corrupt Beverly Hills lawyer with ties to Armenian organized crime, the Department of Justice announced.

Babak Broumand, who worked for the FBI for more than 20 years, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of bribery of a public official, and one count of monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

The convictions stem from Broumand's connection and illicit dealings with Edgar Sargsyan - a Beverly Hills attorney who allegedly paid someone else to take the bar exam in his name.

According to the DOJ, from January 2015 to December 2018, Broumand accepted cash, checks, private jet flights, a Ducati motorcycle, hotel stays, escorts, meals, and other items of value from Sargsyan.

The government claims Sargsyan paid Broumand $10,000 a month. Sargsyan has since pled guilty to five federal crimes.

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The star witness for the government described on the stand how he made millions of dollars in credit card fraud and other illegal activities.

After the guilty verdict was read on Tuesday, Broumand often glanced at his wife and hung his head.

The former agent will be sentenced in January. The DOJ says Broumand will face statutory maximum sentences of 15 years in federal prison for each bribery count, 10 years in federal prison for each unlawful monetary transactions count, and five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count.