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Thursday, March 8, 2007

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NEW YORK -- The former imam of an Albany mosque was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for his role in a money laundering scheme involving a fictional terror plot set up as an FBI sting.

Yassin Aref professed innocence before his sentencing and criticized the government's treatment of Muslims.

"I never had any intention to harm anyone in this country," the 36-year-old Kurdish refugee said. "And I don't know why I'm guilty."

Aref and pizzeria owner Mohammed Hossain were convicted in October for their roles in a money laundering scheme involving an FBI informant who pretended to be an illegal arms dealer.

The informant asked Hossain to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City. Aref, spiritual leader of Hossain's mosque, acted as a witness to the transactions.

Though the assassination plot was fictional, prosecutors in 2004 accused the pair of supporting terrorism.

Aref was found guilty of 10 of 30 charges. In addition to counts related to the money laundering scheme, he was found guilty of lying to FBI agents about having known a terrorist leader, Mullah Krekar, when he worked for a Kurdish political organization in Syria.

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Hossain, 52, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Bangladesh, was convicted on all 27 charges against him, including three counts of conspiracy, and was to be sentenced later Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak argued during federal trial that Hossain wanted money, while Aref was drawn into the plot by ideology.

Defense attorneys claimed the transactions were innocent, noting that Muslims often lend money to each other with clerics serving as witnesses. Aref and Hossain said they didn't believe any talk about a missile in New York.

© 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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