Ohio man gets over 6 years in terror funds case
May 21, 2012, 8:37 PM
Associated Press
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – A man who pleaded guilty last year with his wife in a plot to ship money to a Mideast terrorist group was sentenced to just over six years in prison on Monday.
Hor Akl and his wife, Amera Akl, planned for a year how to send up to $1 million overseas to Hezbollah, a Lebanese group the U.S. government lists as a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors say. The couple embarked on the plan after they first met with an FBI informant nearly three years ago, prosecutors say.
The Akls, dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, both pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Hor Akl also pleaded guilty to money laundering, bankruptcy fraud and perjury charges.
U.S. District Judge James Carr in Toledo sentenced Hor Akl to 6 years and 3 months in prison. Amera Akl was sentenced last year to just over three years in prison.
A message seeking comment was left Monday with Hor Akl’s attorney. Amera Akl’s attorney has maintained that she took part because she was in financial trouble.
An FBI informant approached Amera Akl with an offer to send money to Hezbollah and give her a share for helping transport it, federal prosecutors say. She then brought her husband into the plan and they both had a role in making arrangements, the government maintains.
An informant provided the couple with $200,000 for the first shipment that was to be hidden in an SUV before they were arrested, prosecutors say.
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