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Posted by: kwflatbed

Feds charge Sharon imam with fraud: Muhammad Masood lied to immigration officials, they say

Imam Masood Could face up to 10 years in prison (File photo) By Patriot Ledger staff
BOSTON - Federal investigators have filed a criminal complaint charging Imam Muhammad Masood of Sharon with fraud and lying to immigration officials.

Masood, 49, was arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court and released.

Masood’s attorney, Norman Zalkind, said the government is hoping to indict his client within the next 30 days. A 36-page affidavit filed in the case alleges that Masood lied repeatedly to the Immigration Service regarding his eligibility to become a permanent resident. The former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s Sharon mosque is a native of Pakistan and had applied for a green card in 2001.

Masood claimed that he left the United States and returned to Pakistan, from 1991-1993, as required as a condition of his visa, the affidavit says. Masood also maintained that he served as imam at a mosque in Faisalabad, Pakistan, during his time abroad. He began serving as imam of the Sharon mosque in 1998.

Whether he returned to his native Pakistan is critical, because if he failed to comply with immigration regulations, he would have been ineligible to be granted legal permanent residence.

Authorities alleged that Masood remained in this country, lived in Boston University housing, got traffic tickets, had a job and was even present for the birth of his seventh child in March 1992.

To bolster their case that Masood lied to immigration officials, federal investigators contend he also lied to get a New Hampshire driver’s license in 1999 - giving a New Hampshire address while he was still living in Boston University housing, despite no longer being a student there.

In an application for permanent residence, Masood also allegedly lied about never receiving public assistance. Authorities said Masood and his family applied for and received benefits from Massachusetts’ Medicaid program.

He also allegedly denied being arrested, even though records showed he had been charged with shoplifting in Norwood in 2000.

If convicted, Masood faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a mandatory special assessment of $100 on each charge.

In May, an immigration judge scheduled an Oct. 11 deportation hearing for Masood, his wife and their five adult children.

Masood, his son Hassan and Masood’s brother-in-law, Imam Abdul Hannan of the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell, were picked up in November as part of a multi-state sweep by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Masood has said that he returned to his native Pakistan, but re-entered this country illegally in 1993 and later paid an amnesty fine. He claims someone else was using his driver’s license in 1992 when a ticket was issued.

Masood’s immigration attorney, William Joyce of Duxbury, has said the imam and his family would apply for political asylum if they are deported to Pakistan, on the grounds that it would be dangerous for them to live there. This rationale stems partly from the fact one of Massood’s brothers, Muhammad Saeed, is one of Pakistan’s most notorious radical Muslim leaders and the founder of a banned terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba (Soldiers of the Pure) that still curries considerable support there. The United States declared the group a terrorist organization after the Sept. 11 attacks, and it is banned in Pakistan, India and by the United Nations.

Masood has disavowed any relationship with his brother and told Sharon clergy in May that the last time he spoke with him was ‘‘a long time ago.’’

Full Story: http://ledger.southofboston.com/arti...ews/news02.txt

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Posted by: kwflatbed

By Lane Lambert
Patriot Ledger
BOSTON - Imam Muhammad Masood of Sharon was indicted and arraigned in federal court this morning on 9 counts of lying on green card applications, and claiming that he illegally re-entered the U.S. in 1993 when he never left the country.

The former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s Sharon mosque pleaded not guilty. He declined comment after the arraignment.

He’ll return to U.S. District Court for a pretrial session on Sept. 18, less than a month before he’s scheduled to face an Oct. 11 deportation hearing in federal immigration court.

The criminal charges carry maximum sentences of 5 to 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000.

The 49-year-old Pakistan native was arrested and released on bail on the criminal charges on July 23. Last November he was detained for visa violations in a multi-state immigration sweep.

Among the criminal charges, the government says the imam claims he illegally returned to the U.S. in 1993 when he never left, that he got Medicaid health benefits and said he didn’t, and that he said he’d never had a student visa, even though he first came to the U.S. that way, to study as Boston University.

Imam Masood’s attorney, William Van Lonkhuyzen, questioned why the government is pursuing a criminal case when the immigration case is already underway.

‘‘I can understand why the (Muslim) community is upset,’’ Van Lonkhuyzen said.

A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman had earlier declined comment about the criminal charges.

Imam Masood was at the Sharon mosque from 1998 until he was picked up on the immigration charges last year. He and his family still live in a residence on the mosque property.

http://ledger.southofboston.com/arti...s/news0000.txt

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Posted by: kwflatbed


Photo by AP
Muhammad Masood, former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s Sharon, Mass., mosque, left front, and his attorney Norman Zalkind, right, arrive at U.S. District Court in Boston today

A local imam whose arrest caused anger in the Muslim community pleaded guilty today to immigration fraud charges in a plea deal with federal prosecutors that would spare him prison time but could lead to his deportation.
Muhammad Masood, 49, the former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s mosque in Sharon, admitted during a change-of-plea hearing in U.S. District Court that he lied to immigration officials and on immigration forms after he applied to become a permanent resident of the United States in 2002.
Masood, a citizen of Pakistan who has lived in the United States for about 20 years, pleaded guilty to five charges, including fraud and making false statements.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutions agreed to recommend a sentence of three years probation, but no prison time. They also agreed to dismiss four other similar charges against Masood.
But Masood’s guilty plea could ultimately force him to return to Pakistan.
"It may have an effect on your immigration status. It may lead to deportation from the United States," Judge Douglas Woodlock told Masood while asking him if he was sure he wanted to plead guilty rather than go to trial on the charges.
The arrests of Masood and another local imam, Hafiz Abdul Hannan, the leader of the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell, in November 2006 prompted an outcry from the Muslim community. Several hundred people attended a rally on City Hall Plaza after they were released on bail, and several local Muslims accused the government of charging the men simply because they are Muslim.
Masood, who initially entered the country on a student visa in the late 1980s and studied at Boston University, admitted that he lied repeatedly to immigration officials.
Immigration law required people who had student visas to leave the United States for at least two years before they could apply to return.
Masood admitted he lied when he claimed on his application for permanent residency that he had returned to Pakistan from 1991-93. Authorities said he stayed in the United States during that time. He also admitted listing a false address in Pakistan for that time period.
Masood also admitted he lied on his application when he said he had never been charged with a crime, either here or outside the United States. Masood was charged with shoplifting in Norwood in August 2000.
Masood and his son were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with 31 others in a nationwide sweep of an alleged scheme to provide religious-worker visas to immigrants who instead got secular jobs.
Masood declined comment after the hearing. His lawyer, Norman Zalkind, said Masood considered the plea agreement the best outcome for the case.
"We made what we consider a very fair agreement based on the evidence that was shown," Zalkind said.
Woodlock set sentencing for May 22.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1076580

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Imam faces sentencing on immigration fraud charges


BOSTON (AP) _ A local imam who pleaded guilty to immigration fraud charges faces sentencing in federal court.
Muhammad Masood is the former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s mosque in Sharon.
The arrest of Masood and another local imam in November 2006 prompted an outcry from local Muslims who accused the government of charging the men simply because they are Muslim.
Masood is a citizen of Pakistan and has lived in the United States for about 20 years. He admitted lying to immigration officials after he applied to become a permanent U.S. resident in 2002.
Federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of three years probation, with no prison time, when Masood is sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court.
Masood’s guilty plea could lead to his deportation.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...fraud_charges/

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Posted by: Tuna

Screw him, send him back!!!

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Angered judge postpones imam’s sentencing in immigration fraud case

LISA BUL/The Patriot Ledger
Imam Muhammad Masood walks into the Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston in the expectation that he will plead guilty to some counts in his criminial trial.


By LANE LAMBERT
The Patriot Ledger
Posted May 22, 2008 @ 04:42 PM
Last update May 22, 2008 @ 05:23 PM


BOSTON —
Government lawyers wanted to put Imam Muhammad Masood back in jail on Thursday, but a federal judge wouldn’t let them.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock was prepared to sentence the former Islamic Center of New England cleric to three years’ probation, or possibly set a tougher penalty, for visa fraud charges.
Instead, a clearly angered Woodlock postponed the sentencing until June 5, when he was told that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents planned to take Imam Masood back into custody as soon as he left the court.
``We’re going to slow the ball down,'' Woodlock told lawyers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. ``I’m not sure everyone has thought this through.''
Five Federal Protective Services vehicles were parked outside the Moakley Courthouse, waiting to whisk the imam to jail.
U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of Abington attended the brief session, but had no comment afterward.
Imam Masood’s lawyers said they were told of the immigration agency’s plans at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, barely 24 hours before the scheduled sentencing session. They filed an emergency motion for the delay Thursday morning.
The imam’s attorney Norman Zalkind said it all parties had agreed that Imam Masood would remain free on a $10,000 bond while his deportation case resumed in federal Immigration Court.
The imam was spiritual leader of the Islamic Center’s Sharon mosque from 1996 until he was picked up by immigration agents in November 2006. The government opened a criminal case on the same visa violation last summer.
The government says the imam lied about his immigration status in green card applications, and said he returned to his native country Pakistan when he in fact never left the U.S., as required in a student visa program.
Imam Masood pleaded guilty to 5 of 9 charges in February, in a plea deal in which prosecutors recommended the three-year probation, with no prison time.


http://www.patriotledger.com/homepag...ion-fraud-case

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