For Immediate Release: May 12, 2023

On May 8, 2023, the Grand Jury for the City of Alexandria indicted Claude Ibrahim, a 53-year-old resident of Manassas, Virginia, with 17 counts of Felony Embezzlement. The charges arose from the defendant’s employment as a General Manager at Hank’s Oyster Bar restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. It is alleged that the defendant embezzled over $600,000 over the course of approximately eight and a half years.

These charges will be tried before the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria. Each count of Felony Embezzlement carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The Circuit Court has ordered the defendant to be released on her own recognizance. A trial date has yet to be set in the matter. All persons charged with a criminal offense are presumed to be innocent. The fact a person has been charged with an offense is not evidence of guilt and the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving each element of every charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Rule 3.6 of the Virginia State Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys states, in pertinent part: "A lawyer participating in or associated with the… prosecution … of a criminal matter that may be tried to a jury shall not make or participate in making an extrajudicial statement… that the lawyer knows, or should know, will have a substantial likelihood of interfering with the fairness of a trial by jury." Therefore, the Commonwealth is prohibited from discussing the evidence, its trial strategy or its work product prior to trial or plea in this case.