NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.ice.gov/news/releases/1105/110522boston.htm
MAY 22, 2011
BOSTON, MA
ICE deports Pakistani man investigated during the failed Times Square bombing
BOSTON - A Pakistani man arrested in Massachusetts during the investigation into the failed Times Square bombing was deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). He arrived in Pakistan on May 22.
Aftab Ali Khan, 28, formerly of Watertown, Mass., was accompanied by ICE ERO officers on a flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. Khan had been in federal custody since May 2010 when he, his uncle, and a man in Maine were arrested following the failed attempt to bomb New York’s Times Square on May 1, 2010.
Khan pleaded guilty to charges of unlicensed money transmitting and immigration document fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced Khan to time served, 11 months, and three years of supervised release. Khan was then ordered to the custody of ICE ERO for deportation proceedings.
A complaint unsealed on Nov. 16, 2010, alleged that Khan, a Pakistani citizen, entered the United States in August 2009, to marry his then-fiancé and began working at a Brookline, Mass., gas station without a required work permit.
Federal prosecutors alleged that approximately three months later, after marrying a different woman, Khan defrauded the government by filing documents to adjust his immigration status in which he knowingly omitted his unauthorized employment.
Following the Times Square attempted bombing in May 2010, investigators obtained evidence that Khan had provided $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, who was later convicted of carrying out the bombing attempt. Khan borrowed the money and transferred it to Shahzad in February 2010 as part of a “hawala” transaction in which Khan’s family received an equivalent amount of money in Pakistan. Khan conducted money transmission business transactions without complying with federal registration requirements.
The complaint did not charge that Khan was complicit in the Times Square attempted bombing or knew what Shahzad intended to do with the money.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation of Khan was conducted cooperatively as part of a team of 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The investigators worked around the clock for several days to resolve questions about Khan’s money transfers relating to the 2010 failed bombing of Times Square.
Khan’s removal from the United States was part of a plea deal involving a deportation order that followed his admission that he lied to federal agents investigating him. Khan’s request to appeal the deportation order was dismissed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) on Jan. 4, 2011.
ICE’s ERO prioritizes the apprehension, arrest and removal of convicted criminals, those who pose a threat to national security, fugitives and recent border entrants. Between October 2008 and the end of fiscal year 2010, the number of convicted criminals that ICE removed from the U.S. increased 71%. In fiscal year 2011 from Oct. 1, 2010 to April 30, ICE has removed a total of 109,700 aliens convicted of crimes from the United States.
A copy of the news release when Khan was sentenced is available by clicking here.
Previously...
Quote:
www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2011/April/AliAftabSentencingPR.html
PAKISTANI MAN SENTENCED ON UNLICENSED MONEY TRANSMITTING CHARGES AND IMMIGRATION FRAUD
April 12, 2011
BOSTON, Mass. - AFTAB ALI, a/k/a Aftab Ali Khan, 29, formerly of Watertown, Massachusetts, pled guilty and was sentenced today on charges of unlicensed money transmitting and immigration document fraud.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced ALI to time served, 11 months, and three years of supervised release. ALI was ordered to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “Aftab Ali has been in custody for nearly 11 months as a result of the charges in this case and the conduct underlying them. The prison term and ultimate deportation, sends an important message that unlicensed money remitting and immigration document fraud are felonies that warrant incarceration.”
Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI said, “Twenty federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force worked around the clock for several days to resolve questions about Mr. Ali’s money transfers relating to the 2010 failed bombing of New York’s Times Square. The JTTF uncovered Mr. Ali’s illegal money transfers and immigration fraud as a direct result of its proactive approach to prevent, deter and disrupt the possibility of further terrorist activity. Ultimately, the JTTF, assisted by the Brookline and Watertown police departments, ensured that the community was safe.” “Although Mr. Ali was not charged with financing the terrorist plot, his actions highlight the dangers of unlicensed money transmissions which enable individuals to anonymously send money across international borders. Prohibitions against this activity were enacted to, among other ends, prevent the direct and indirect financing of terrorism.”
“This investigation is an example of federal law enforcement partnering to use their diverse investigative authorities in cases that pose a threat to national security and public safety,” stated Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. “It also reaffirms our determination to identify and arrest those who conspire to compromise the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration system.”
A complaint unsealed on November 16, 2010, alleged that ALI, a Pakistani citizen, entered the country in August 2009 to marry his then-fiancé and began working at a Brookline gas station despite lacking a work permit. Approximately three months later, after marrying a different woman, ALI defrauded the government by filing documents to adjust his immigration status in which he knowingly omitted his unauthorized employment.
Following the Times Square attempted bombing on May 1, 2010, investigators obtained evidence that ALI had provided $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, who was later convicted of carrying out the bombing attempt. ALI borrowed the $4,900 from the manager of the Brookline gas station where he was employed and transferred it to Shahzad in February 2010 as part of a “hawala” transaction in which ALI’s family received an equivalent amount of money in Pakistan. ALI conducted money transmission business transactions (such as this one) without complying with federal registration requirements.
United States Attorney Ortiz; Special Agent DesLauriers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office; and Special Agent Foucart of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Weinreb and Aloke Chakravarty in Ortiz’s Antiterrorism and National Security Unit.