US citizen guilty of giving money to Al Qaeda
By DPA, IANSWednesday, May 19, 2010
WASHINGTON - A US citizen from Morocco has pleaded guilty to giving more than $23,000 to the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation, authorities said.
Khalid Ouazzani, 32, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a federal court in Kansas City, Missouri, and could receive a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines for providing material support to terrorism, the Justice Department said.
Ouazzani also admitted to engaging in fraud to obtain a $175,000 bank loan by saying it was for his automotive-related business, the department said.
Prosecutors allege that Ouazzani swore an oath of allegiance to Al Qaeda in June 2008, and admitted to a role in a conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorist group.
Ouazzani allegedly agreed to contribute $6,500 to Al Qaeda in August 2007 through an unidentified co-conspirator he later repaid by wiring money into a bank account in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He also agreed to pay Al Qaeda $17,000 in the summer of 2008 earned from the sale of an apartment he owned in the UAE, prosecutors alleged.
