Anti-gay Mosque leader accused of immigration fraud. Imam's arrest sparks protest outside court

Black Collar Crime

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | July 24, 2007

The spiritual leader of a mosque in Sharon was arrested yesterday on federal immigration fraud charges, sparking a protest outside the courthouse in Boston by a group of religious leaders and civil rights advocates who called the case a witch hunt.

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Muhammad Masood, 49, imam of the 1,500 member Islamic Center of New England, is accused of lying repeatedly to federal immigration officials between 2002 and 2006 in a bid to obtain a green card and ultimately become a US citizen.

The criminal charges follow administrative charges brought by immigration officials last year. That case also drew wide protest from local Muslim leaders, who have accused authorities of ignoring efforts to smooth relations with members of various cultures.

<snip>

Authorities also allege that Masood did not disclose that he had collected state health benefits from 1997 to 2005 and initially denied ever being charged with any crimes, although he later acknowledged that he had been arrested for shoplifting in Norwood in 2000. The charge was later dismissed.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/24/mosque_leader_accused_of_immigration_fraud/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News


See prior thread:

2 local imams arrested in alleged visa scheme (at least 1 is anti-gay activist)
Topic started by IanDB1 on Nov-16-06 07:58 PM (6 replies)
Last modified by smirkymonkey on Nov-16-06 09:30 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=158&topic_id=11231


This guy has really lawyered-up-- bigtime. He's hired one of the two best lawfirms in Boston.