Lying About Terror Ties Nets San Diegan 8 Years

SAN DIEGO (CN) - A San Diego man will spend eight years in prison for making false statements during a terrorism-related investigation at the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara, the Justice Department said Monday.

Mohamed Saeed Kodaimati, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in October 2015 to a single count of making false statements involving international terrorism. In the plea agreement and contrary to statements he made to the FBI and State Department officials, Kodaimati admitted to knowing a member of the Islamic State or ISIL and that while he was in Syria he participated in a battle against the Syrian regime.

At the sentencing hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia said Kodaimati's crime involved "very, very serious" false statements and that the eight-year prison sentence was necessary to deter others from doing the same thing to jeopardize national security.

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