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Rochester Men Accused of Aiding Hezbollah Charged with Money Laundering
Update: Yehia Ali Ahmed Alomari, Mohamed Al Huraibi and Saleh Mohamed Taher Saeed pleaded guilty on August 28, 2009, to operating an illegal money-transmitting business. Alomari and Saeed were both sentenced to time served on November 30 and December 1, 2009, respectively.
Posted: June 2, 2008
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Three Yemeni men from Rochester, New York, have been charged with illegally sending money overseas in the belief it would benefit Hezbollah.
Yehia Ali Ahmed Alomari, 26, Mohamed Al Huraibi, 49, and Saleh Mohamed Taher Saeed, 27, allegedly transferred more than $100,000 to overseas accounts they thought were controlled by Hezbollah.
While authorities said that the men had no links to the terrorist group and have not been charged with any terrorism-related crimes, the indictment, handed down on May 8, 2008, charges the three men with sixteen counts of money laundering. The charges allege that the men willingly sent money they were told would help Hezbollah.
According to prosecutors, an undercover officer allegedly arranged with Alomari, Al Huraibi and Saeed to send $107,430 to overseas accounts that the officer said were controlled by Hezbollah between April 2005 and February 2007. The money, however, was sent to accounts controlled by the federal government.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. The men, who managed grocery stores in Rochester, have been in federal custody since their arrest in February 2007.
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