SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Fadl Mohamad Alharbi, age 51, of Syracuse, was sentenced today in federal court in Syracuse to a $10,000 fine and to two years of supervised release following his conviction for naturalizing contrary to law and submitting a false statement in a passport application. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent-in-Charge Keith J. Byrne, New York Field Office, U.S. Department of State-Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
Alharbi was convicted following a jury trial in August 2021 in Binghamton, New York. The trial evidence revealed that Alharbi, a native of Yemen, used a false name and falsely posed as the son of his uncle, who was a U.S. citizen (and is now deceased), to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States and, later, to naturalize as a U.S. citizen and to apply for a passport. The defendant later admitted in interviews with immigration and Department of State officials that he knew these facts about his identity were false and that he had submitted these false statements to naturalize and to obtain a passport.
Alharbi will also be denaturalized (lose his U.S. citizenship) as a result of his conviction.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State-Diplomatic Security Service with assistance from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.