San Diegan Arrested on Terrorism Charges

SAN DIEGO (CN) - A San Diego man was arrested Thursday and charged with making false statements about his involvement with international terrorism.

Mohamad Saeed Kodaimati, 24, was charged with two counts of making false statements to the FBI and the State Department about his recent activities in Syria, during March interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

Citing the 29-page complaint, the U.S. Attorney's Office said that Saeed falsely claimed that he had never been involved in any fighting, that he had never fired his weapon at anyone, that he did not know anyone who was a member of ISIL, that he had never told anyone else that he was involved with Al-Nusrah, and that he had never worked or volunteered at a Sharia court.

"Evidence gathered during the investigation contradicts these and other statements Saeed made to the interviewing agents," the U.S. attorney said in a statement.

Saeed was born in Syria and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. He left San Diego in December 2012 and was in Turkey and Syrian until he returned to the United States in March, when he was arrested by Customs and Border Protection.

If convicted, he faces up to 8 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

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