Noman Sabit: The court sentenced former assistant Tyrese Haspil (25), who killed Bangladeshi youth and CEO of Pathao Fahim Saleh in New York, to life imprisonment. Local time Tuesday (September 10), a New York State Supreme Court jury sentenced Tyrese Haspil to 40 years in state prison after he was convicted of murder, robbery and theft, among other charges. He is also required to pay full restitution back to the companies. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said this in a statement.
June 24, 2024, a New York State Supreme Court jury convicted Haspil on all counts, including one count of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, one count of Burglary in the Second Degree, among other charges.
Tuesday (September 10) Tyrese Haspil is facing accountability for brutally murdering and decapitating Fahim Saleh (33), a kind, generous, and empathetic person who positively impacted the world. Even after the defendant stole from him to fund a lavish lifestyle, Fahim still gave him a second chance,” said District Attorney Bragg. “While today’s sentence won’t bring Fahim back, I hope it provides his family a sense of closure as they continue to mourn his painful loss.”
As proven at trial, Fahim Saleh hired Haspil as his entrepreneurial assistant in May 2018. Haspil was responsible for financial tasks, where he gained access to Fahim’s financial records. By Fall 2018, Haspil was stealing from Fahim’s companies using two, separate sophisticated schemes.
In September 2018, Haspil started the first scheme by creating a PayPal account using a name that mimicked other financial transactions of the business, funneling the funds into that account while creating fake statements.
In December 2018, Haspil created a second financial scheme where he began stealing more money by creating a corporate entity and bank account. He funneled the money by mimicking other transactions, so it went undetected, continuing through May 2019.
Haspil resigned in May 2019, knowing Fahim would learn about the embezzlement, yet continued to steal money increasing the amounts. In January 2020, one of the frauds was detected and traced back to Haspil. Fahim confronted him for stealing approximately $35,000 from his company and offered to settle the debt with a repayment plan over a two-year period in lieu of criminal prosecution.
Haspil paid Fahim back for the detected scheme with stolen money from the PayPal financial scheme. The PayPal embezzlement continued, escalating to approximately $400,000.
Afraid that Fahim would discover the continued PayPal embezzlement, Haspil started plotting to murder Fahim to prevent him from potentially testifying against him in any criminal proceedings. Haspil spent months planning the murder.
On July 13, 2020, at approximately 8:30 a.m.,Haspil followed someone into Fahim’s lobby and waited there inside a stairwell. Haspil had a knife and taser and was wearing a black custom suit with an opaque mask so that Fahim would not recognize him.
When Fahim returned from a run, Haspil followed him into the elevator, which opened directly into Fahim’s apartment. As Fahim exited the elevator, Haspil immediately tased him in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. Haspil then stabbed Fahim multiple times in the neck and torso, killing him.
Attempting to conceal the murder, Haspil used a mini vacuum to vacuum the Anti-Felon Identification Discs (AFID), which contain a serial number and are discharged by the Axon taser to aid law enforcement.
Haspil returned to the apartment the following day, after leaving to discard evidence in a garbage can, to dismember Fahim’s body with a saw and clean up the crime scene. After the saw’s battery ran out, he left to purchase a battery charger.
While Haspil was out, Fahim’s cousin came to check on him since she had not heard from him in 24 hours. At the apartment, she discovered her cousin’s dismembered and decapitated body and called the police.
Once Haspil returned from Home Depot, he noticed police presence at Fahim’s apartment and left the scene.
On July 17, 2020, officers arrested Haspil at the Airbnb he had booked to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday.
The PayPal embezzlement continued until Haspil’s arrest.
Assistant D.A. Linda Ford handled the prosecution of this case along with Assistant D.A. Joseph Goldstein (Trial Bureau 50), under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Jessica Lynn (Bureau Chief of Trial Bureau 50) and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division). Forensic Accountant Investigator Jeffrey Leap, Financial Intelligence Unit Director Rosalind October, Supervising Computer Forensic Analyst Douglas Daus, Supervising Major Case Analyst Jesse Hixon, and Trial Preparation Assistant Sophie Gad also assisted throughout the investigation and trial.
D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, specifically Detective Salvatore Tudisco and Sergeant Christopher Dede of the 7th Precinct Detective Squad, and Detective Robert Hahn of Manhattan South Homicide Squad.
BP/SM
