A Dracut resident, Nika Ashtar-Zadeh, has been sentenced to two months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick in a federal court in Boston. The sentence, issued on May 21, 2025, is part of the penalty for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme concerning online sales of cosmetics.
Nika Ashtar-Zadeh, aged 24, will also serve one year of supervised release following his prison term and has been ordered to pay $115,037 in restitution along with forfeiture amounting to $67,000. He was charged alongside his brother Nick Ashtar-Zadeh in September 2024 and admitted guilt to a wire fraud charge the following month.
The scheme operated between 2019 and 2021 involved both brothers running online “stores” on Amazon and eBay. They sold products from a Texas-based cosmetics company at prices matching or undercutting the company’s listed prices. Without customer consent or knowledge, they enrolled these buyers into the company’s trial program using their details obtained through these platforms.
Initially charging customers $19.95 for the trial period product shipments, subsequent payment attempts by the company were declined after customers retained the products beyond the trial period. This operation led to significant financial losses for the cosmetics company as hundreds of such transactions took place.
In March 2025, Nick Ashtar-Zadeh received a six-month prison sentence followed by two years of supervised release from Judge Kobick. He was also required to pay restitution of $181,806 and forfeiture totaling $111,156.
The case’s announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley along with Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb handled prosecution duties for this case within the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.
