Category: Immigration fraud

Maine: Somali youth sentenced to 8 years for raping woman; no prospect for rehabilitation says judge

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I missed the sentencing story last month for the Somali teen who was convicted of breaking into a middle-aged woman’s home and raping her as she slept.

Mukhtar wants to go back to Africa!

We have previously reported on Mohammed Mukhtar’s case, here.

From The Examiner:

On Tuesday, Mohammed Mukhtar, 18, was sentenced in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court to eight years in prison for breaking into a 50-year-old woman’s apartment in Portland, and raping her as she slept.

Judge Richard Mulhern said: “This was a terrible assault on a sleeping, helpless victim,” and that Mukhtar has “no prospect for rehabilitation.”

Mukhtar pleaded guilty last month to gross sexual assault, burglary and aggravated criminal trespassing.

The Examiner then jumps to an earlier Portland Press Herald story:

Mukhtar, who had sought to be tried as a juvenile rather than an adult, listened to the judge’s words through a Somali interpreter. He showed no reaction other than occasionally wiping his hands over his face as a photographer tried to take his picture.

His attorney, Jonathan Berry, told the judge that Mukhtar wants to return to Africa but that his client otherwise had nothing to say at the hearing. Berry had said previously that deportation could prove difficult since the United States has no diplomatic relations with Somalia.  [Actually they are wrong, he can be deported—ed]

“Based on the pattern of antisocial behavior he’s demonstrated so far, I think the only thing the youth would add is more offenses over the course of time. I’ve seen no remorse by Mr. Mukhtar from his actions so far. I see no prospect of rehabilitation,” Mulhern said. “I think it’s simply a matter that society needs to be protected from Mr. Mukhtar for a period of time.

For new readers we have resettled more than 100,000 Somali refugees to cities large and small in the US over the last 25 years.  See one of the most widely read posts here at RRW.  In three years since 9/11 ( Bush years 2004, 2005, 2006) the number of Somalis arriving topped 10,000 per year.  Those refugees then began bringing in the family (chain migration!) until 2008 when shock of shocks! the State Department discovered that as many as 30,000 Somalis had lied about their kinship and weren’t related at all.  The State Department then closed the “family reunification” program for Somalis.  It has recently been re-opened for new and legit family members, but they have no intention of finding and deporting the liars.

Iranian granted refugee status in US, leaves, looks for asylum in Europe

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It’s just not like what you envision refugees do.  We have this notion, based on puff-pieces written in the mainstream media, that refugees come to America or are granted asylum, are eternally grateful, work their butts off and settle into American life.  Actually, LOL! readers here at RRW might not have that vision, but the average American does.  So, this little bit in the middle of another story about the Iranian rights activists (the supposed good guys) bopping back and forth to Turkey was informative.

Kouhyar Goodarzi

The article in Euronews is about a blogger, described as a human rights activist, Kouhyar Goodarzi, who is expecting to be granted asylum in the US.

He has been a refugee since the winter, and is waiting for his request for asylum, lodged with the UN High Commission for Refugees, to be accepted.

[….]

Kouhyar intends to rebuild his nest in the United States after his asylum application has been accepted.

And, he plans to keep up his activism from “his nest” in America!

Expelled from university in Tehran where he was studying aeronautics, he wants to continue his studies and, while pursuing his professional activities, keep up his activism.

Not a client of the Asylumist (Jason Dzubow) I hope!

Then there is his friend, Hossein Salmanzadeh, who had already been a refugee in the US, didn’t like it (says he couldn’t find work) who hopped on back to Turkey and is now shopping for asylum in Europe.   This does not pass the smell test!

Hossein Salmanzadeh took the first pictures of his friend Kouhyar Goodarzi upon his arrival in Ankara.

A former photographer for the national Iranian news agency, Fars, Salmanzadeh fled four years ago, after being accused of selling photographs of post-electoral events in 2009 to foreign media.

“The government can punish me, or maybe kill me. Because the government said you are a spy, a Mossad spy, a CIA spy. Because you send pictures to other agencies. Sometimes I get a message ‘you can come back. You will only, have to go to jail for one week, do an interview on TV then you can have a good and enjoyable life’. I can’t do it!”

Salmanzadeh was a refugee once in the United States, but he could not find work. Having returned to Turkey, he hopes to be given asylum in Europe. [So how persecuted was he?—-ed]

Turkey only provides temporary refugee status to non-European asylum seekers, relying on the UNHCR to organise their transit to a third country.

Fishy story all around!

Senator Rand Paul: ‘Immigration reform’ must include improved security measures

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Paul: Refugee program deserves more scrutiny!

After reading the opening paragraphs of Paul’s op-ed in the Washington Times today, one might think Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has been reading RRW!  All of the cases he cites have been reported on these pages!

A recent Quinnipiac poll in Iowa puts Paul only 4 points behind Hillary while Rubio gets trounced by her 48% to 37%. Politico

Fazliddin Kurbanov is from Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country that borders Afghanistan. This month, Mr. Kurbanov was arrested in Boise, Idaho, charged with teaching people how to build bombs that could be used to target public transportation. He is accused of conspiring with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the United States recognizes as a terrorist organization. Mr. Kurbanov was here legally, admitted as a refugee in 2009.

Last year, in Aurora, Colo., Jamshid Muhtorov was arrested and charged with providing material support to the Islamic Jihad Union, which the United States recognizes as a terrorist organization. Like Mr. Kurbanov, Mr. Muhtorov is from Uzbekistan and was also here legally as a refugee.

In 2011, in my hometown of Bowling Green, Ky., Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi were arrested and accused of supporting efforts to kill American troops in Iraq. Both men are from Iraq. Both were also here legally as refugees.

The Bowling Green Daily News reported that these Iraqi refugees “slipped through the vetting process that allowed both of them political asylum in the United States.” Apparently, Mr. Kurbanov and Mr. Muhtorov “slipped through” as well.

Read on.  Then this:

I condemn government inefficiency and incompetence often. The targets for criticism are endless. In the repeating patterns from these refugee and visa cases, however, we see potentially dangerous scenarios in which we cannot afford any excuses.

[….]

These questions are crucial as Congress continues to debate immigration reform, in which vital national security concerns must be addressed. Our visa and refugee programs deserve far more monitoring and scrutiny, and there is something desperately wrong with a “vetting process” that makes so many repeated mistakes.

Instead of fixing the problems, the so-called ‘comprehensive immigration reform bill’ (S.744) weakens security measures already in place but doing poorly!   Most efforts to strengthen security failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up largely due to heavy lobbying by refugee resettlement contractors who object to anything that slows the flow of refugees into the US (and slows the flow of taxpayer dollars into their coffers!).

Paul concludes by laying down a marker for Harry Reid.  The question then becomes is this a recommendation by Paul or a demand; and will he follow through by holding up the Gang of Eight plus Grover bill *when it reaches the Senate floor?

“I respectfully request that the Senate consider the following two conditions as part of the comprehensive immigration-reform debate: One, the Senate needs a thorough examination of the facts in Massachusetts to see if legislation is necessary to prevent a similar situation in the future. Two, national security protections must be rolled into comprehensive immigration reform to make sure the federal government does everything it can to prevent immigrants with malicious intent from using our immigration system to gain entry into the United States in order to commit future acts of terror.”

The Politico Iowa poll story is here.

*Senator Paul, if you are reading this, please stay away from Grover Norquist!

I’m AnnC@refugeewatcher on twitter. Please tweet this and also follow me!

Ethiopian/Somali immigrants involved in driver’s license scam; two fatal accidents resulted

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is the whole story from the Denver Post yesterday (hat tip: Michael).   This is a common practice in the ‘refugee’ community and a topic we have previously mentioned.  Here is one post we wrote about Burmese refugees traveling to Colorado to get a drivers license.

You gotta laugh! No photos of the real perps?

I thought I could quickly get a mugshot of the chief scammer, but no luck.  There are lots of stories on this case going back a couple of years, but no photos I could find quickly.  I have to laugh, food stamp fraud stories are often illustrated with EBT cards and the only illustration I could fine for this story was this one with a driver’s license for a blond woman.

Denver Post (emphasis mine):

Two drivers who took driving tests from the operator of a Denver driving school who faces 20 years in prison for administering examinations under false pretense were later involved in fatal crashes, according to a document in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Both Tidenekiyalesh Ashenhafi W. Hawariyat, an RTD bus driver who ran a red light and struck a vehicle killing two in 2010, and Ali Aden, who ran head on into a car when he was driving the wrong way on Interstate 76 in 2009, were tested by Sikiru Fadeyi.

Fadeyi, who is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11, ran Ola’s Driving School on East Colfax Avenue. The state authorized the school to administer the written and driving-skills tests needed to get a license.  [Gee, maybe the State of Colorado needs to revisit this practice.—ed]

Under questioning, Aden “revealed that he did not read, write or speak any English, it was clear that he would have been unable to pass a written examination that is only offered in English or Spanish,” according to the document.

Hawariyat passed all required examinations with Fadeyi in 2006 and later upgraded to a commercial license.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello sentenced two others in the scheme, Djibrill Sana, and Omar Masakira, with three and two years probation respectively. “These are just minions,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Mackey said.

Sana and Masakira acted as “brokers” to introduce people who wanted driver’s licenses to Fadeyi. Many were from Somalia and Ethiopia.

Prosecutors say Fadeyi charged applicants from $100 to $1,000 and then falsified the written and driving examination results.

Fadeyi has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud and asked for a sentence less than federal guidelines call for, saying his behavior was a “misguided attempt to aid those in the local African community,“ according a document filed by prosecutors objecting to his motion.

“Defendant Fadeyi was misguided by putting on the streets and highways of Colorado, and other states, drivers who were unqualified. The defendant was misguided by not assisting disadvantaged African immigrants legitimately to pass written and driving tests. Defendant Fadeyi was misguided by putting the safety and well-being of legitimate Colorado and United States citizens and their family members in jeopardy,” according to the document.

One more thing, we learned this in the same AP article where we got the photo:

Federal prosecutor say 1,458 driver’s licenses tied to Fadeyi have been revoked.

Doesn’t it make you wonder how many of those phony driver’s licenses were used for Voter Registration?

I’m AnnC@refugeewatcher on twitter. Please tweet this and also follow me!

Immigrant food stamp fraud alert: Niagara, NY this time

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Citizens’ complaints prompted authorities to investigate!  That is often times what it takes—watchful community members blowing the whistle!

The EBT Nation!

For new readers, food stamp fraud is a side interest of mine and I’ll keep posting these stories and asking the question—how are all these immigrants getting into the US, buying up convenience stores and then running these scams on the food stamp program?  And, why is no real investigative reporter trying to answer the question?

From Niagara Gazette:

Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour says it was citizen outrage that sparked his office to launch an undercover probe of welfare fraud at Falls food stores.

“You know, we’d get the complaints from people who’d be in the these stores and they’d call us and say, ‘You can’t believe what these people are buying (with food stamps),'” Voutour said.

Or in some cases, what they were not buying.

“We looked at some of these stores and at the amount they were processing in food stamps,” Voutour said. “We had stores that were processing enormous amounts of food stamps, but they didn’t have the inventory of (food stuffs) to support (the food stamp redemptions).”

On Monday, Voutour and Niagara County District Attorney Michael Violante dropped the hammer and arrested the owners of two Falls mini-marts, charging them with a raft of fraud related crimes.

The charges followed a four-month, undercover investigation. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office posed as food stamp recipients were able to make a series of fraudulent transactions at both the Indian General Store, 1611 Pine Ave., and Merry Mart, 336 19th St., between September and January.

Voutour said it was shocking how easily the fraud took place.   [LOL! If Voutour read RRW regularly he wouldn’t be so shocked—ed]

[….]

Charged and arraigned in Falls City Court on Monday were Jasbir Kaur and Shamsher Singh, the owners of Indian General Store.  [Obviously of Indian origin. We had another sour Kaur in Pottstown, PA here in March—ed]

Kaur, 52, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, misuse of food stamps, first-degree falsifying business records, first-degree tampering with public records, third-degree welfare fraud and three counts of first-degree offering a false instrument.

Singh, 59, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, misuse of food stamps, first-degree falsifying business records, first-degree tampering with public records, third-degree welfare fraud and first-degree offering a false instrument.

Investigators said during the course of the food stamp investigation they also linked Kaur and Singh to a Medicaid fraud scheme and charged them with that as well.

Also charged and arraigned on Monday was Merry Mart owner Wael Rizek. Rizek, 42, was charged with third-degree grand larceny, misuse of food stamps, six counts of first-degree falsifying business records and six counts of first-degree tampering with public records.  [Couldn’t figure out Rizek’s nationality, maybe Palestinian?—ed]

[….]

The savings to Niagara County taxpayers as a result of those deals is estimated at over $100,000.

For dozens more cases like this one, go to our food stamp archive here.  And, btw, food stamp use by refugees is up sharply since Obama took office, here.

I’m AnnC@refugeewatcher on twitter. Please tweet this and also follow me!