May 22, 2003
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Sharon Paul • (217) 492-4450

West Peoria Man Charged in Central Illinois with Making False Statements
in Investigation of September 11th Terror Attacks

Peoria, IL - Jan Paul Miller, United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, and Herbert Cousins Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Springfield, Illinois Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that the federal grand jury in Peoria, Illinois, returned a seven-count indictment today charging Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, age 37, of West Peoria, Illinois, in the Central District of Illinois. The indictment charges Al-Marri, also known as "Abdulakareem A. Almuslam," with making false statements to FBI agents during the investigation of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Further, Al-Marri is charged with making false statements to banks in Macomb, Illinois; identity fraud; and access device (credit card numbers) fraud.

According to court documents, Al-Marri had previously waived his right to be tried in the Central District of Illinois, and was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York. Al-Marri subsequently withdrew his consent to be tried in New York. Pending dismissal of the charges by the Southern District of New York, a complaint was filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois. The matter was subsequently presented to the grand jury in Peoria.

The indictment returned today alleges Al-Marri made false statements to FBI agents in Peoria on two occasions. The first instance alleged in the indictment occurred on October 2, 2001, when agents interviewed Al-Marri at his apartment in West Peoria.

Upon questioning, Al-Marri admitted he had arrived in the United States on September 10, 2001. When asked about his previous travels to the U.S., the indictment alleges Al-Marri said he had last been in the U.S. in 1991, when in fact, he had been in the U.S. in the summer of 2000.

The indictment alleges Al-Marri made another false statement to FBI agents on December 11, 2001. During an interview at the Peoria office of the FBI, Al-Marri was asked if he had ever called a telephone number in the United Arab Emirates that the FBI believed was associated with a person named Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. The indictment alleges Al-Marri told the agents he had not called the number when, in fact, he had called the number on several occasions.

According to court records, al-Hawsawi is named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment charging Zacarias Moussaoui in the Eastern District of Virginia with various crimes relating to the September 11th attacks.

The indictment alleges that from July 2000 to August 2000, Al-Marri used false identification to open bank accounts so that he could deposit and withdraw funds under an assumed name; that during this time, he rented a room at the Time Out Motel in Macomb, Illinois, in the name "Abdulakareem A. Almuslam" so he would have a local address to receive documents related to the bank accounts he intended to open; and created a fictional business called "AAA Carpets" using the hotel address as the business address. The indictment further alleges Al-Marri used a false Social Security number to file false account opening applications with three banks in Macomb.

The counts charging Al-Marri with making false statements to banks allege that he provided a false name and social security number to three banks located in Macomb, Illinois: Citizen's National Bank on or about July 21, 2000; First Federal Bank on or about August 3, 2000; and, Mid-America National Bank on or about August 3, 2000.

The indictment also alleges that on December 11, 2001, in West Peoria, Al-Marri possessed 15 or more unauthorized and counterfeit credit card numbers. The numbers were on a piece of paper in his computer carrying case and in computer files in his laptop computer.

If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for each of the counts returned by the grand jury charging Al-Marri are as follows: identity fraud (one count), 15 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000; for making a false statement to a bank (three counts), 30 years imprisonment and $1,000,000 fine; for making a false statement to a federal agent (two counts), the statutory penalty is up to five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000; and, for access device fraud (one count), 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois State Police, the Peoria Police Department and the Peoria County Sheriff's Department. U.S. Attorney Miller, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick J. Chesley and Greggory R. Walters are in charge of the prosecution in the Central District of Illinois. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Kolodner and Michael McGovern of the Southern District of New York are also on the case as part of the prosecution team.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Under the law, each defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which time it will be the burden of the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.