Enaam Arnaout

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Enaam Arnaout is an American of Syrian descent, who pleaded guilty to using charitable donations to support fighters in Bosnia without apprising the donors of this^[1], during his tenure as a director of the charity Benevolence International Foundation (which is now banned worldwide by the United Nations).

During a sentencing hearing in August 2003, U.S. District Judge Suzanne Conlon told prosecutors they had “failed to connect the dots” and said there was no evidence that Arnaout “identified with or supported” terrorism. ^[2]

Arnaout entered into a plea agreement on February 10, 2003, in which he pled guilty to a single count of racketeering.^[3] In that agreement, the prosecution acknowledged that neither Arnaout nor BIF had acted contrary to the interests of the United States, or had any ties to Osama bin Laden or Al Qaeda. Arnaout's statement of guilt acknowledges subverting on the order of $300,000 to $400,000 of charitable funds (out of a total of about $20,000,000) to buy boots, uniforms, tents, and an ambulance for Bosnian fighters, without the knowledge of the charitable donors. Judge Conlon sentenced Arnaout to 136 months in prison.

Both Arnaout and the government appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On December 2, 2005, the Seventh Circuit reversed the sentence and remanded the case to Judge Conlon for resentencing. In February 2006, Judge Conlon resentenced Arnaout to 120 months (10 years) in prison. ^[4]

[edit] Further reading

• original April 2002 indictment of Arnaout, at the United States Department of Justice

[edit] References

1. ^ Benevolence Int'l Chief Pleads Guilty: Arnaout pleads to lesser charges to avoid facing potentially biased jury, About.com, February 11, 2003
2. ^ Few convictions on terror since 9/11: Most arrested not linked to extremists, Washington Post, June 12, 2005
3. ^ Statement of Enaam Arnaout: BIF chief pleads guilty to racketeering, releases statement to media and American Muslim community, About.com, February 10, 2003
4. ^ New Sentence for Charity Director, New York Times, February 18, 2006