SAN DIEGO (CN) - A San Diego man pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the FBI and State Department during a terrorism-related interview at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey, federal prosecutors said.
Mohamaad Saeed Kodaimati, 24, admitted in a plea agreement that he lied by saying he did not know anyone in the Islamic State in Iraq, or ISIL; that he lied again when he said he was never involved with the terrorist group Al Nusrah; and that he lied a third time by saying he had never been in combat or fired a weapon in Syria, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Prosecutors and Saeed's attorneys will both recommend the maximum sentence of 8 years in federal prison.
Saeed was arrested in April on two counts of making false statements involving international terrorism.
He was born in Syria and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in September 2008. He left San Diego in December 2012 and went to Istanbul, Turkey, and was in Syria and Turkey until he returned to the United States in March this year, according to the U.S. attorney.
He was arrested in Rancho Bernardo on April 22.
His plea agreement must be accepted by a federal judge.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
