Oregon: “Domestic partner” of Democrat governor admits to sham marriage to Ethiopian

10/12/2014 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This isn’t a refugee story, but it does involve one of our favored refugee nationalities—an Ethiopian—who paid the now “fiancée” of Gov. John Kitzhaber $5000 more than a decade ago to marry him to gain US citizenship.

Just for your information, we have tens of thousands of Ethiopians now in the US through refugee resettlement. In fact the Director of the entire federal Office of Refugee Resettlement is Ethiopian Eskinder Negash. Additionally one of the nine major federal refugee contractors is the Ethiopian Community Development Council.

Earlier this year we reported on a huge marriage fraud bust in the African migrant go-to state of Maine, here.

Hayes has been living with the Governor as his “domestic partner” since 2003 according to wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kitzhaber

Here is the juicy news from KATU.com (hat tip: Cathy):

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a stunning admission Thursday, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancée Cylvia Hayes admitted to illegally marrying an Ethiopian immigrant in the late 1990s for money and so he could stay in the United States to get a college degree.

Hayes said she was paid about $5,000 and made the “bad decision” to marry the man during a “difficult and unstable period” of her life and that she was “associating with the wrong people” at the time.

[…..]

Hayes apologized to the people of Oregon and to the governor for her actions and said Kitzhaber did not know about the marriage until this Tuesday.

“I was ashamed and embarrassed; therefore, I did not share this information even with John once we met and started dating,” she said.

She also said she has retained a lawyer and is prepared to accept the consequences.

The Governor did not attend the Hayes press conference.

There is a lot more, read it all here. Hayes might not be prosecuted, but sources tell KATU that the Ethiopian scammer could be deported.

More Bloggers needed! Someone should write a blog focusing on scams being perpetrated by migrants on America. Heck, look at all the food stamp fraud (trafficking!) cases we have reported over the years. And, then there are the Medicaid fraud cases in addition to the phony marriages. There would be fresh news every day for you to report. You could have a blast!

Oregon: Somali refugee Christmas tree bomber wants new trial

06/06/2014 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

But even more interesting news is linked here about the fact that Somalis and other African refugees are not doing well in Oregon (are they doing well anywhere?).

From AP:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Defense attorneys will argue Wednesday morning that a Portland, Oregon, man convicted of terrorism charges should be acquitted or granted a new trial.

Oral arguments will focus on the government’s use of evidence and its reliance on surveillance obtained through extrajudicial means.

The attorneys for Mohamed Mohamud (pictured in a mugshot at left) say prosecutors failed to notify them of information derived under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until Mohamud had already been convicted.

That failure, they say, withheld important information from the defense team and violated Mohamud’s constitutional rights.

Prosecutors responded in pre-hearing briefs that they didn’t disclose any new information when they informed Mohamud’s defense team of the surveillance in November.

Somali Community of Oregon

That story links us to an older article about the formation of the Somali American Council of Oregon which was started to “bring the Somali community together.” In refugee industry lingo the Somali Community of Oregon is an ECBO (Ethnic Community Based Organization) which is eligible to receive your tax dollars to act as a “community organizing” and advocacy group (you know like what Obama did before he started running for elective office, that kind of organizing).

ECBOs stand up for their ethnic people and make sure their people get signed up for whatever they are entitled to. Usually they register their people to vote as well. And, if their people get in trouble with the law they go to bat for them (like the Christmas tree bomber).

See our category on ECBOs here.

Now check out this story from 2013 about the rough time the 10,000 plus Somalis of Oregon are having. Weren’t we told that refugees are self-sufficient at high rates and that we weren’t importing poverty?

Recently we reported that 63% of Somalis in Minnesota live in poverty, and in Oregon it appears to be about the same rate!

The surveillance, arrest and conviction of Mohamed Osman Mohamud for domestic terrorism has created a watershed moment for Oregon’s Somalis. Before the case, the community was scattered, made up of many small groups, each with different regional, tribal and religious traditions.

Now the community, estimated at 10,000 people, is coming together through the Somali American Council of Oregon.

“We want to bring everyone together to build trust and faith in one another,” says Mussé Olol, (pictured) chair of the council.

[…..]

Right now, many Somali-born parents fear their children cannot thrive in America. Their challenges include the unique problems that come with being refugees from a war zone targeted by Islamic extremists. But they also face more familiar barriers of unemployment, poverty, racism, school failure and the school to prison pipeline.

[…..]

In 2010, the Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State University released a report noting that more than half, 56 percent, of Multnomah County’s African immigrant and refugee children live in poverty.

According to Ann Curry Stevens, the Portland State researcher who authored the report, “That number has deteriorated and today two-thirds, 67 percent, of African children live in poverty.”

Read the whole story at The Skanner, it is very informative.

Oregon: Ho hum! Another convenience store, another Burmese criminal….

04/12/2014 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

….and further confirmation that we are admitting Burmese Muslims to the US (and dumb ones to boot!).

In our previous post we reported Burmese in Michigan ripping off the food stamp program, a few days ago it was a Burmese murder in Pennsylvania, and now it’s a murder-for-hire plot in Oregon in the busy (and growing***) Burmese “community” of America.

Diversity is strength alert! Bringing their culture to a town near you!

From Oregon Live (Hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):

Mohdsidek Habibullah claimed the plot to kill his 45-year-old business partner — who ran a Southeast Portland convenience store with him — was all a big joke.

That was despite secretly acquired audio recordings of Habibullah talking about wanting to use a .357 handgun to shoot business partner Mohammed Absar in the head, a part of the body he thought would make less of a bloody mess.

And that was despite the recently purchased black shirt, pants, gloves and mask police found in the trunk of his car. Habibullah claimed they were gardening clothes.

And Habibullah — a 50-year-old immigrant from Burma — continued to proclaim his innocence despite the $1,100 prosecutors say he handed over to a known criminal to buy him a gun and a car that would be used to dispose of the body. Prosecutors say that when the criminal showed up with the car and it was red, he asked him to spray-paint it black to make it less conspicuious.

After two days of trial, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jerry Hodson didn’t need a recess before finding Habibullah guilty Thursday of the attempted aggravated murder and attempted murder of Absar. The men had known each other for about 10 years, and Habibullah spent the bulk of the day running the Stop-N-Go Market off of Southeast 122nd Avenue while Absar would often spend a few hours at the end of each day closing it down.

Read the whole story to see why I say Habibullah is dumb—remind me why we are letting people like this into the US!

*** So how many Burmese have we settled in your cities in a little over a decade?

Here is one accounting of how many we have resettled over the last 12+ years from Burma (Myanmar) and camps in Thailand. They are still coming by the thousands!

*Burmese refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 97,713

*Chin Refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 30,453

*Karen Refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 57,962

*The rest ethnic groups from Burma in the US since 2001: 9297

This last number above would include Burmese Muslims/Rohingya

Click here for our extensive coverage of Burmese refugees in America. We have a whole category on Burmese Rohingya Muslims, here.

Oregon: More Muslims busted for food stamp fraud

12/05/2013 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Readers, here is one more in our long list of food stamp fraud cases involving immigrant-run stores where a disproportionate number involve Muslim managers and owners.

We follow food stamp fraud as a side interest here at RRW until such a time when some blogger-wannabe takes on the project full time. Honestly, you could write posts daily on immigrant-run convenience store food stamp fraud and never run out of stories!

Mainstream news outlets don’t want to touch this topic with a ten foot pole! That is why we need citizen investigative journalists!

From KOIN.com:

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Beaverton grocery store owner, his daughter and three employees have been arrested on accusations they perpetrated an elaborate food stamp fraud scheme.

According to Beaverton police, 42-year-old Mahmoud Tajgerdu would allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to exchange their benefits for cash at his store, Beaverton Halal Meat***and Mediterranean Groceries, located on Southwest Canyon Road.

Under the exchange, Tajgerdu would, for example, charge $125 to a food stamp user’s SNAP card in exchange for $100 in cash. Tajgerdu would then pocket the $25 difference.

At least Mahmoud wasn’t as greedy as most. The going rate on this scam is 50 cents on the dollar. The store clerk takes half the cash and gives the other half to the seller of benefits, which is illegal too by the way. I’ve seen an occasional case where the seller of their welfare benefits is criminally prosecuted and frankly if we saw more of those it might have a chilling affect on the whole fraud scheme.

KOIN continued:

Beaverton police detectives and U.S. Department of Agriculture agents apprehended Tajgerdu and his daughter Tuesday, along with three employees who work at his store and a nearby 76 gas station that he owns.

Tajgerdu faces nine counts each of first-degree aggravated theft and unlawfully obtaining supplemental nutritional assistance. His daughter, 23-year-old Negin Tajgerdu, is charged with three counts of perjury.

Thirty-nine-year-old Bahman Hoshmand, 38-year-old Aziz Darakhshani and 35-year-old Rafik Korkut face multiple counts of aggravated theft and unlawfully obtaining supplemental nutritional assistance.

A Portland area shopping guide tells us this about Beaverton Halal and Tajgerdu (emphasis is mine):

Beaverton Halal

11527 SW Canyon Road, 574-2383.

Consider it the goat-butcher equivalent of an open kitchen. At Beaverton Halal, your goat is butchered while you watch. The front of the store is a half-sorted hodgepodge, with spices of various provenance arranged by dart throw down the left aisle and mega-sacks of rice stacked near the door, with sundries like honeycomb and sweet jallab syrup stored on miscellaneously stocked shelves in the store’s midsection. But the action’s in the back at the butchery, where owner Mahmoud Tajgerdu butchers goat and sheep at staggering affordability, in quantities like “quarter goat” and “half goat,” fresh from a farm in Eugene and all in accordance with Islamic law (which, for secular purposes, mostly means that it’s not pork, amphibious, carnivorous or gross.) JG.

Shopping list: The goat and mutton will be the main attractions, but heart and liver can also be found here.

Guess the Muslims in the area will need to find another goat butcher to watch.

If you suspect food stamp fraud in your neighborhood, here is the contact information for reporting your suspicions. See something, say something!

Sentencing to be set aside in Somali Christmas tree bomber case

11/29/2013 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, then 19, is shown after his arrest on Nov. 26, 2010, in Portland, Ore. Mohamud was convicted of planning to detonate a bomb during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony…..

Just when I thought I could take a break from Somali posts today,* here comes news from a few days ago (hat tip: Judy) that due to questions about the legality of NSA spying on private communications, the case of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the 2010 Portland Oregon Christmas tree convicted bomber, could go into a legal black hole.

Mohamud, whose family came here as refugees, had hoped to blow up the tree and the families there for the tree-lighting ceremony.

From NPR:

The sentencing of a Somali-American man convicted of trying to bomb a holiday tree-lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore., in 2010 has been put on hold indefinitely. That move comes just days after the Justice Department notified his lawyers that part of the case against him had been “derived from” secret NSA electronic surveillance.

Both sides met Tuesday in the chambers of U.S. District Judge Garr King to discuss next steps. The judge later issued a public order delaying the sentencing of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, which had been scheduled to take place Dec. 18.

“If sentencing remains appropriate, the court will reset the sentencing hearing,” after it rules on motions from federal public defenders Stephen R. Sady and Lisa Hay, the judge’s order said.

The move could foreshadow months or even years of legal wrangling, if the case becomes a vehicle to challenge the constitutionality of once-secret NSA monitoring of overseas email and social media accounts.

Wasn’t this just the sort of Islamic terror case we should be unraveling with NSA surveillance?

Photo and portion of caption is also from NPR.

Here is our archive of the Christmas tree bomber case.

*Actually I do have more Somali posts, so to readers who have sent them, I am going to get to them!