Flint’s Amir Hekmati is Suing the US Government for Victim Funds

The 36-year-old Marine veteran is suing the United States government for the millions of dollars that he was eligible to receive.

Amir Hekmati returned to the United States back in 2016 after being held prisoner and abused in Iran on suspicions that he was a spy for more than four years; he was even sentenced to death at one point. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the country.

Hekmati was contacted by the State Department and told that he was eligible for millions of dollars through the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. His attorneys allege that, even though they've inquired many times, Hekmati hasn't received a dime.

He was supposed to get his first payment this past January; the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington D.C. by his attorney.

American-born Hekmati was visiting his grandmother in Iran when he was arrested. His father was a professor at Mott Community College.