Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud
Mysterious Moroccan worked in Iraq, had "high-level" clearance
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U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud
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U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud -
U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud
OCTOBER 17--In an embarrassing security breach, an Arabic interpreter who handled classified material while working for the last two years with U.S. military units in Iraq has been arrested after FBI agents discovered that he had so completely fabricated his identity and background that they are still unsure of his true name and have formally charged him as 'FNU LNU' (first name unknown, last name unknown). According to a criminal complaint filed (with no fanfare or press release) last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, the interpreter, who had been granted a 'high-level clearance to access classified information,' has been charged with making a variety of false statements to FBI and Department of Defense officials as well as the Immigration and Naturalization Service. A copy of the complaint, sworn by FBI agent Robert Long, can be found below. The interpreter, who used the alias Almaliki Nour and claimed to be a Lebanese citizen who fled to the U.S. from Beirut in the late 1970s after his home was bombed, was deployed to Iraq in late-2003 after being hired by The Titan Corporation, a major Pentagon contractor. While in Iraq, the interpreter, who is believed to be 45 and of Moroccan descent, fraudulently accessed 'classified information of the United State Military' while assigned to various units, including 'an intelligence group in the 82nd Airborne Division.' According to court records, the interpreter was jailed upon his October 13 arrest and is scheduled for a detention hearing today before U.S. Magistrate Steven Gold. The man's ruse began unraveling late last month when he was interviewed in Iraq by FBI and DoD personnel charged with determining whether the interpreter should continue to have access to classified information. During follow-up interviews last week in Brooklyn, the interpreter admitted his fraud, according to the complaint, which does not address the motive for the interpreter's fabrications or whether he is suspected of mishandling classified material while working with U.S. military forces. In 1993, the man was granted permanent resident status by the INS as part of an amnesty program for aliens who had lived in the U.S. for more than ten years. He was naturalized in February 2000 under the 'Almaliki Nour' alias. (12 pages)
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