San Diego man sentenced to 8 years in prison for making false statements during international terrorism probe
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego man was sentenced Monday to eight years in federal prison for making false statements to officials from the FBI and Department of State during a terrorism-related interview at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.
Mohamad Saeed Kodaimati, 25, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of false statements related to international terrorism. As part of his guilty plea, Kodaimati acknowledged that he lied in March 2015 when he said he did not know any members of Islamic State in Iraq, a designated foreign terrorist organization known as ISIL. Kodaimati falsely claimed that while in Syria he was never involved with Al Nusrah, also a foreign terrorist organization; and he lied again when he said that while in Syria he had never engaged in combat or fired a weapon at anyone.
“The defendant deliberately hid his connections to terrorists and the fact that he participated in combat in Syria,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “This is an appropriately severe sentence that underscores the very serious nature of a crime that has the potential to jeopardize our national security.”
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia noted the crime involved “very, very serious” false statements and that an eight-year sentence was necessary to deter others who might be tempted to lie when national security is at stake.
“This international terrorism investigation - which started in Ankara, Turkey, and ended up in San Diego, California - exemplifies the tireless efforts by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) members to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who engage in international terrorism activity,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric S. Birnbaum. “Today's sentencing will hold Mr. Kodaimati accountable for his lies and dissuade others from lying to FBI agents regarding international terrorism matters.”
“This investigation underscores the serious threat posed by the violent propaganda being spread by international terrorist organizations both here and abroad,” said Dave Shaw, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego. “I commend the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force for its outstanding work to connect the dots in this complicated case, which eventually tied back to San Diego. HSI is using all of the tools and authorities at its disposal to promote national security and protect our citizens.”
Kodaimati was born in Syria and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in September 2008. In December 2012, Kodaimati travelled from San Diego to Istanbul and was in Syria and Turkey until his return to the United States.
Kodaimati was taken into custody at his Rancho Bernardo residence in April 2015 by federal agents with the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). During several interviews, Kodaimati told investigators he had engaged in combat operations at the direction of, and with the permission of, both al-Nusra and ISIL. Additionally, Kodaimati showed investigators an aerial map of the positions where he fired during a battle alongside, and under the direction of al-Nusra.
Updated: