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False ID documents bring prison sentence
By MICHELLE WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 15, 2003 | Last updated 9:33 PM Jul. 14
NORFOLK -- A Chesapeake resident who had been investigated by federal agents for having several false identification documents was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison on a weapon charge and for using a fake Social Security number.
Mohammed A. Samarah, originally from Jordan, came to the attention of the region's Joint Terrorism Task Force after an auto mechanic found identifications with different names but the same photograph in March 2002. The mechanic called the FBI.
Samarah was arrested earlier this year after agents searched his home, business and safety-deposit boxes and found blank college diplomas, blank templates for Jordanian birth certificates and blank letterhead from colleges and banks.
In addition to having a false Social Security number, Samarah was charged with having an oversized gun magazine labeled ``for law-enforcement use only.''
No evidence has linked Samarah, 42, to terrorist groups.
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Samarah became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He lives in Chesapeake and owns a small grocery store in Newport News.
In U.S. District Court, lawyers argued over how much Samarah had cooperated with government investigators after pleading guilty to the two charges.
J. Brian Donnelly, Samarah's lawyer, said his client submitted to three days of debriefing by FBI agents.
In his closing argument, federal prosecutor Joseph E. DePadilla said Samarah told the truth only when confronted with evidence that exposed previous statements as lies.
``Each step of the way he has thwarted the truth,'' DePadilla said.
Donnelly argued that Samarah's case reaped extra attention because his charges came soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.
``You would expect state agents to conduct a search for false documents,'' Donnelly said outside court, not federal task force officers.
DePadilla said the terrorist attacks did bring false documents to the foreground of criminal investigations.
``It's just a national push,'' DePadilla said. ``It was no big deal for a long time, and now it is. . . . It's just too easy to move around the country if you have false documents.''
Samarah's wife lost her job with the city of Norfolk after her husband's arrest because she was no longer allowed access to computers, Donnelly told U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman. With her husband's conviction, his store will lose its licenses for liquor, lottery tickets and food stamps, Donnelly said. The woman is working to get those licenses in her own name.
Samarah also was convicted in Chesapeake of eight forgery charges related to his use of a false driver's license. He is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on Aug. 15.
Reach Michelle Washington at 446-2287 or [email protected]
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Well, somebody finally got charged with having an LEO-only magazine. Maybe the feds will stick with the charge instead of plea-bargaining it (but this guy definitely doesnt sound like a remotely good 2A test case).
Kharn
False ID documents bring prison sentence
By MICHELLE WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 15, 2003 | Last updated 9:33 PM Jul. 14
NORFOLK -- A Chesapeake resident who had been investigated by federal agents for having several false identification documents was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison on a weapon charge and for using a fake Social Security number.
Mohammed A. Samarah, originally from Jordan, came to the attention of the region's Joint Terrorism Task Force after an auto mechanic found identifications with different names but the same photograph in March 2002. The mechanic called the FBI.
Samarah was arrested earlier this year after agents searched his home, business and safety-deposit boxes and found blank college diplomas, blank templates for Jordanian birth certificates and blank letterhead from colleges and banks.
In addition to having a false Social Security number, Samarah was charged with having an oversized gun magazine labeled ``for law-enforcement use only.''
No evidence has linked Samarah, 42, to terrorist groups.
See the complete Pilot, exactly as in print
- View stories, photos and ads
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Samarah became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He lives in Chesapeake and owns a small grocery store in Newport News.
In U.S. District Court, lawyers argued over how much Samarah had cooperated with government investigators after pleading guilty to the two charges.
J. Brian Donnelly, Samarah's lawyer, said his client submitted to three days of debriefing by FBI agents.
In his closing argument, federal prosecutor Joseph E. DePadilla said Samarah told the truth only when confronted with evidence that exposed previous statements as lies.
``Each step of the way he has thwarted the truth,'' DePadilla said.
Donnelly argued that Samarah's case reaped extra attention because his charges came soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.
``You would expect state agents to conduct a search for false documents,'' Donnelly said outside court, not federal task force officers.
DePadilla said the terrorist attacks did bring false documents to the foreground of criminal investigations.
``It's just a national push,'' DePadilla said. ``It was no big deal for a long time, and now it is. . . . It's just too easy to move around the country if you have false documents.''
Samarah's wife lost her job with the city of Norfolk after her husband's arrest because she was no longer allowed access to computers, Donnelly told U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman. With her husband's conviction, his store will lose its licenses for liquor, lottery tickets and food stamps, Donnelly said. The woman is working to get those licenses in her own name.
Samarah also was convicted in Chesapeake of eight forgery charges related to his use of a false driver's license. He is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on Aug. 15.
Reach Michelle Washington at 446-2287 or [email protected]
****************************************************
Well, somebody finally got charged with having an LEO-only magazine. Maybe the feds will stick with the charge instead of plea-bargaining it (but this guy definitely doesnt sound like a remotely good 2A test case).
Kharn
