TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 30, 2026

The owner of a Hispanic cultural center in South Nashville was sentenced Thursday to three and a half years in prison, far below the 15 years prosecutors sought, following his fraud convictions, The Tennessean reports. Mark Janbakhsh, founder and owner of Plaza Mariachi on Nolensville Pike, was also ordered to pay $11 million in restitution after being convicted in August on 15 felony counts related to a $24 million bank fraud scheme at his former business, Auto Masters. Prosecutors said Janbakhsh and his brother, co-defendant Ron Janbakhsh, along with two other Auto Masters executives, falsified bookkeeping records to inflate the number of active car loans, allowing the company to secure additional bank financing. Some of the funds were diverted to Mark Janbakhsh’s other ventures, including Plaza Mariachi. Ron Janbakhsh, who pleaded guilty shortly after his indictment and testified against his brother, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison. Before sentencing, Mark Janbakhsh repaid about $10 million of the roughly $21 million he personally received through the fraud. The brothers were ordered to report to prison April 28 and will serve their sentences at separate facilities, while the other executives are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 29.