Attorney: Ex-Islamic charity director back in US
Nov 8, 2012, 12:55 AM
CHICAGO (AP) – An attorney for a former Islamic charity director from suburban Chicago says he is back in the United States after claiming he was stranded in the Middle East because he was on a federal no-fly list.
Attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin said Wednesday that Enaam Arnaout returned to the U.S. two weeks ago after he had initially received permission from a federal judge to travel to the Mideast to visit family.
Arnaout was released from a 10-year federal prison sentence in July 2010 and placed on supervised release. Arnaout pleaded guilty in 2003 to defrauding donors to his charity, Benevolence International foundation.
Arnaout is a Syrian-born U.S. citizen who lives in Bridgeview. Prosecutors accused him of having ties to Osama bin Laden, but Arnaout denies he raised money for terrorists.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)