Jan. 08--A man who came to the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee was arrested in Sacramento on Thursday on suspicion of lying about fighting alongside terrorist organizations in Syria, federal authorities said.
Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, reported on social media that he fought alongside various terrorist groups in Syria, including Ansar al Islam, but later lied to federal immigration officials about his time abroad, according to a complaint filed Wednesday and unsealed Thursday.
Before traveling to Syria in November 2013, Al-Jayab lived in Arizona and Wisconsin, where he had expressed a desire to several individuals online that he wanted to return to Syria and join the fight with terrorist groups, according to the complaint.
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Al-Jayab, a Palestinian who was born in Iraq, first arrived in the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee in October 2012, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of California, which announced the arrest.
After returning to the U.S. from Syria on Jan. 23, 2014, he lived in Sacramento, and in the fall of 2014, during interviews with federal immigration authorities, he denied being affiliated with a rebel or terrorist group. He said he was visiting his grandmother during his travels to the Middle East in late 2013 and early 2014, according to the complaint.
Federal officials say the statements he provided to immigration authorities were "materially false."
"While he represented a potential safety threat, there is no indication that he planned any acts of terrorism in this country," said U.S. Atty. Benjamin Wagner in a statement announcing the charges.
Al-Jayab is scheduled to appear Friday before a federal judge in Sacramento.
He faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted of all charges. An attorney for Al-Jayab could not be reached for comment.
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