Tucson Refugees Arrested For Immigration Fraud

TUCSON, Ariz. - On Aug. 8, 2018, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an eleven-count indictment against Mohamed Abdirahman Osman, 28, and Zeinab Abdirahman Mohamed, 25, both living in Tucson, Arizona, for violations of false swearing in an immigration matter and false statements to a government agency. 

The indictment alleges that Osman and Mohamed, while living in China, applied for and were granted refugee status in 2014.  The husband and wife entered the United States and have been living in Tucson since the time of their entry. In June 2015, Osman and Mohamed submitted applications for Legal Permanent Residence Status to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The indictment further alleges that material submitted in support of their refugee applications and their applications for Legal Permanent Residence Status contained false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements.  The alleged fraudulent statements included Osman’s true name and nationality and denial of his association with members of a designated terrorist organization. Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 10, 2018.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation in this case was conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The prosecution is being handled by Beverly K. Anderson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.