Mr. JOSHUA
03-14-2007, 11:57 AM
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Local trio accused of sending cash for Hezbollah
Yemeni businessmen charged over money transfers
Michael Zeigler (mzeigler@democratandchronicle.com)
Staff writer
(March 13, 2007) — When the owner of a northeast Rochester convenience store transferred $12.3 million to Middle East bank accounts over 25 months, the interest of federal investigators was piqued.
"Clearly, $12.3 million from a small business in Rochester is a significant amount of money," said U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn.
The federal inquiry led to a sting operation and charges that three Yemeni men who run Rochester businesses sent $200,000 overseas in the belief that the money would benefit the Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Yehia Ali Ahmed Alomari, 26; Mohamed Al Huraibi, 49; and Saleh Mohamed Taher Saeed, 27, are charged with conspiring to launder money and laundering monetary instruments. They allegedly transferred money outside the United States after an undercover agent claimed the money had been generated by illegal activities and was intended for Hezbollah.
After Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson, Al Huraibi repeatedly said the
charges were false.
"We're not Hezbollah!" he shouted as U.S. marshals escorted the three into a van to return them to custody.
The charges don't allege that the three are associated with Hezbollah, only that they willingly sent money they were told would help the terrorist group. The money, however, was sent to accounts controlled by the federal government.
"The fact that they thought the money was going to Hezbollah did not deter them from continuing with these illegal transactions," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret A. Puscheck.
"Terrorism remains the number one priority at the Department of Justice," he said. "In this case, I think it's important to bear in mind that although there are overtones of Hezbollah ... the charges here are linked strictly to money laundering. There are no charges that they aided terrorism."
Saeed's lawyer, James J. Rizzo, said his client believes he was helping a fellow Yemeni immigrant send money earned in the United States to relatives in Yemen. Saeed denies hearing that the money was earmarked for Hezbollah, Rizzo said.
"My client thinks it's a misunderstanding, that he did somebody a favor and that no good deed is going unpunished," Rizzo said.
If convicted, Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed could be imprisoned for 20 years and fined $250,000. They also could be deported.
A detention hearing scheduled for Monday was postponed one week for Al Huraibi and two weeks for Alomari and Saeed so their lawyers can determine whether the defendants' families have property that can secure their release from custody.
According to court documents, Saeed is operator of Durnan Mini Mart, 934 Hudson Ave.; Alomari runs Short Deli & Grocery, 711 N. Goodman St.; and Al Huraibi was part owner and manager of Mojo Star's restaurant, 651 Jefferson Ave.
Puscheck said the charges against Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed aren't related to the December 2003 raids of four groceries owned by other Yemenis. Although the raids were triggered by concerns about money transfers, no criminal charges have been brought.
Nor are the charges related to the case of six Yemenis in Lackawanna who pleaded guilty four years ago to charges that they provided support to an al-Qaeda sleeper cell.
Probe began in 2005
The investigation involving Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed began in January 2005 when banking records showed that a Social Security number assigned to Saeed was associated with 324 overseas currency transaction reports totaling $12.3 million from October 2002 through November 2004. The transfers were reported to federal authorities under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which was enacted to improve the reporting of overseas currency transactions and hinder money laundering.
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security assigned a Yemeni immigrant, who had applied for U.S. citizenship, to befriend Saeed in January 2005. The confidential witness, who became a citizen in November 2006, told Saeed that he had made money illegally through food-stamp fraud and wanted to move cash to Yemen, according to court documents.
For a fee of $50 for every $1,000 sent, Saeed made two transfers totaling $26,000, and Alomari, whom Saeed brought in to help, made another $9,000 transfer, the documents said.
Impromptu gathering
But in December 2005, the confidential witness was invited to an impromptu get-together at Saeed's store, where he was introduced to Al Huraibi and another man known as "Alex." Both men said they had been army intelligence officers in Yemen and Alex claimed to support Hezbollah.
The investigation ratcheted up when investigators assigned an undercover agent, who was born in Lebanon and speaks fluent Arabic, to assist the confidential witness. After the agent also said he was a supporter of Hezbollah, he asked if Alomari, Al Huraibi, and Saeed could help transfer money he had raised illegally to the group.
Between August 2006 and February of this year, $200,000 was transferred to an overseas account established by the federal government.
According to court documents, one transfer came on Aug. 15, 2006 — one day after a cease-fire ended a month-long war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Although none of the money wound up with Hezbollah, the whereabouts of $100,000 is unknown, according to court documents. The documents said the confidential witness and undercover agent gave that money to an acquaintance of Alomari in Fresno, Calif., so it could be forwarded to Hezbollah.
The sting ended in late February when federal authorities learned that Alomari was planning to fly from New York City to Yemen.
Agents arrested Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed, as well as Abdula Qassem Ahmed Muthana, 43, a minimart owner in Corcoran, Calif. Muthana was charged with accepting money from the federal agents with the intent that it be transferred to Hezbollah.
Flynn said the arrests showed the value of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a group of federal, state and local agencies that investigate potential acts of terrorist activity or fundraising in the United States. "It's a very serious case," he said. "We take such conduct seriously, when anybody is involved in inappropriate transfers of money for questionable means or purposes."
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Local trio accused of sending cash for Hezbollah
Yemeni businessmen charged over money transfers
Michael Zeigler (mzeigler@democratandchronicle.com)
Staff writer
(March 13, 2007) — When the owner of a northeast Rochester convenience store transferred $12.3 million to Middle East bank accounts over 25 months, the interest of federal investigators was piqued.
"Clearly, $12.3 million from a small business in Rochester is a significant amount of money," said U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn.
The federal inquiry led to a sting operation and charges that three Yemeni men who run Rochester businesses sent $200,000 overseas in the belief that the money would benefit the Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Yehia Ali Ahmed Alomari, 26; Mohamed Al Huraibi, 49; and Saleh Mohamed Taher Saeed, 27, are charged with conspiring to launder money and laundering monetary instruments. They allegedly transferred money outside the United States after an undercover agent claimed the money had been generated by illegal activities and was intended for Hezbollah.
After Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson, Al Huraibi repeatedly said the
charges were false.
"We're not Hezbollah!" he shouted as U.S. marshals escorted the three into a van to return them to custody.
The charges don't allege that the three are associated with Hezbollah, only that they willingly sent money they were told would help the terrorist group. The money, however, was sent to accounts controlled by the federal government.
"The fact that they thought the money was going to Hezbollah did not deter them from continuing with these illegal transactions," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret A. Puscheck.
"Terrorism remains the number one priority at the Department of Justice," he said. "In this case, I think it's important to bear in mind that although there are overtones of Hezbollah ... the charges here are linked strictly to money laundering. There are no charges that they aided terrorism."
Saeed's lawyer, James J. Rizzo, said his client believes he was helping a fellow Yemeni immigrant send money earned in the United States to relatives in Yemen. Saeed denies hearing that the money was earmarked for Hezbollah, Rizzo said.
"My client thinks it's a misunderstanding, that he did somebody a favor and that no good deed is going unpunished," Rizzo said.
If convicted, Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed could be imprisoned for 20 years and fined $250,000. They also could be deported.
A detention hearing scheduled for Monday was postponed one week for Al Huraibi and two weeks for Alomari and Saeed so their lawyers can determine whether the defendants' families have property that can secure their release from custody.
According to court documents, Saeed is operator of Durnan Mini Mart, 934 Hudson Ave.; Alomari runs Short Deli & Grocery, 711 N. Goodman St.; and Al Huraibi was part owner and manager of Mojo Star's restaurant, 651 Jefferson Ave.
Puscheck said the charges against Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed aren't related to the December 2003 raids of four groceries owned by other Yemenis. Although the raids were triggered by concerns about money transfers, no criminal charges have been brought.
Nor are the charges related to the case of six Yemenis in Lackawanna who pleaded guilty four years ago to charges that they provided support to an al-Qaeda sleeper cell.
Probe began in 2005
The investigation involving Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed began in January 2005 when banking records showed that a Social Security number assigned to Saeed was associated with 324 overseas currency transaction reports totaling $12.3 million from October 2002 through November 2004. The transfers were reported to federal authorities under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which was enacted to improve the reporting of overseas currency transactions and hinder money laundering.
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security assigned a Yemeni immigrant, who had applied for U.S. citizenship, to befriend Saeed in January 2005. The confidential witness, who became a citizen in November 2006, told Saeed that he had made money illegally through food-stamp fraud and wanted to move cash to Yemen, according to court documents.
For a fee of $50 for every $1,000 sent, Saeed made two transfers totaling $26,000, and Alomari, whom Saeed brought in to help, made another $9,000 transfer, the documents said.
Impromptu gathering
But in December 2005, the confidential witness was invited to an impromptu get-together at Saeed's store, where he was introduced to Al Huraibi and another man known as "Alex." Both men said they had been army intelligence officers in Yemen and Alex claimed to support Hezbollah.
The investigation ratcheted up when investigators assigned an undercover agent, who was born in Lebanon and speaks fluent Arabic, to assist the confidential witness. After the agent also said he was a supporter of Hezbollah, he asked if Alomari, Al Huraibi, and Saeed could help transfer money he had raised illegally to the group.
Between August 2006 and February of this year, $200,000 was transferred to an overseas account established by the federal government.
According to court documents, one transfer came on Aug. 15, 2006 — one day after a cease-fire ended a month-long war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Although none of the money wound up with Hezbollah, the whereabouts of $100,000 is unknown, according to court documents. The documents said the confidential witness and undercover agent gave that money to an acquaintance of Alomari in Fresno, Calif., so it could be forwarded to Hezbollah.
The sting ended in late February when federal authorities learned that Alomari was planning to fly from New York City to Yemen.
Agents arrested Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed, as well as Abdula Qassem Ahmed Muthana, 43, a minimart owner in Corcoran, Calif. Muthana was charged with accepting money from the federal agents with the intent that it be transferred to Hezbollah.
Flynn said the arrests showed the value of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a group of federal, state and local agencies that investigate potential acts of terrorist activity or fundraising in the United States. "It's a very serious case," he said. "We take such conduct seriously, when anybody is involved in inappropriate transfers of money for questionable means or purposes."
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NEWS01/703130336/1002/NEWS
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