Detroit – A group of Detroit-area men opened bank accounts to move millions of dollars to Yemen, their war-torn native country. Their crime: They didn’t register as a money transfer business.
Their luck: They drew a sympathetic judge.
One by one, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn declined to send them to prison, despite guidelines that call for a few years or more behind bars. He noted that Yemen’s financial system is a mess and its residents desperately need help. Defense lawyers have praised the judge for educating himself about the poorest country in the Arab world and understanding cultural traditions.
“Only people without compassion” would object to the light sentences, the 95-year-old judge told The Associated Press.
“As I’ve been here longer,” Cohn said, “I’ve come to the realization that the rules are flexible – at least to me.”
The Detroit area is believed to have the highest U.S. population of Yemenis, a demographic that has risen amid war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions more with food and health care shortages.
Money sent from abroad is critical. The World Bank estimates that Yemenis received at least $3.3 billion in 2018, a figure some experts consider conservative. Cash from expatriates is “hugely important” and remains a “mainstay for many households and the national economy,” said Sheila Carapico, a professor of global studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia.
Since 2018, federal prosecutors in Detroit have charged nine people in an investigation of cash transfers to Yemen. Bank accounts were opened in the names of shell businesses, then used to deposit and wire roughly $90 million over a seven-year period, according to plea agreements filed in court.
“Much of the currency originated from bodegas in New York City and from businesses and individuals in the metro Detroit area and was sent in a manner to conceal the true ownership of the currency, place it outside reach of law enforcement and evade income taxes,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Wyse said.
The “evil” is the lack of records to precisely track the cash, he said.
All nine men have pleaded guilty to failing to register money transfer businesses or making false statements to agents. One, Fahd Samaha, said he charged people only 1%, much less than typical financial service providers. The government said he moved $13 million to Yemen.
“There were no victims. … He used the extra money to live and take care of his family,” said Samaha’s attorney, Jalal Dallo.
The cases were assigned to Cohn, who has been a federal judge since 1979. During a September hearing, he described the conditions in Yemen as “horrendous” and noted that sending men to prison can cause hardship in conservative Muslim families where wives often don’t work outside the home.
It’s unfair to “shed the traditions and practices of your homeland,” Cohn told Hazem Saleh, who possibly faced five years in custody for handling $22.6 million.
Judges don’t have to follow sentencing guidelines, and Cohn rejected prison terms. He placed Saleh and five others on supervised release, a form of probation. Three others await sentencing.
“Please look at me as you would look at your own son,” Ahmed Al-Howshabi told the judge in July. “I can truthfully say I did not understand the laws and regulations of operating such a business.”
Prosecutors said they had no evidence the scheme was anything more than sending money to relatives and possibly avoiding taxes, but they believed sentences within the guidelines were appropriate.
“Sometimes judges agree with us and sometimes they don’t,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider told the AP.
Defense attorney William Swor, whose grandparents emigrated from Syria, said people of Arab descent appear to be under greater scrutiny than others in the U.S.
“In the post-9/11 world, the government says it wants to know who’s transferring money out of the country. We’ll assume that’s a legitimate concern, but it’s not inherently a dangerous activity,” Swor said.
Gather round my dearies for I shall the tale of Ibrahim Aljahim, His D.C. Godmother, Alexis Krot & The Hamtramck Elections.
Alexis Krot should tell everyone how Ibrahim Aljahim helped her with her election, and the elections of the other "Elected Ones".
I bet that would be quite the tale!
Wait, I have one better.
How about we ask Ibrahim to tell us his many tales of how he helped other officials get elected.
We most definitely must ask Ibrahim about what he was doing up in my Sweetie's office with his "Godmother".
She used to get so excited when she would call and record our conversations.
Sometimes, she would let her friends listen in on us, too.
She would even record me from the congressional office, too.
They would all gather round to listen to the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed tell her tales of romance as I used to watch the Smarty Pants who lived in the Ivory Tower on the Hill.
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. - The hearing Thursday for Ibrahim Aljahim is a preliminary exam during which the judge is looking to see if there's enough evidence.
However, the defendant is so politically connected that the judge herself offered to step aside
Aljahim is a community liaison at Oakland International Academy and a Democratic political activist. He's now accused of taking a student with special needs out of school and sexually assaulting him in a car parked across the street.
Aljahim is so tied in to Hamtramck politics that district Judge Alexis Krot had to first say that Aljahim helped get her elected to the bench.
"I had an election last year, he helped me … I want everyone to note that," said Krot.
Krot said she would be neutral on the case, but would step aside if need be. The prosecution and defense said they had no problem with her overseeing this case.
Last time in court, prosecutors revealed Aljahim is also under investigation for three other alleged sexual assaults -- two alleged victims under the age of 16 and one over 18, but that victim is disabled.
Aljahim's lawyer also revealed what his defense will be: He is accusing three Oakland International Academy students of actually attacking the teen. But those teens were interviewed and police cleared them.
"These three individuals are the ones who accused him of doing, the same individuals, the police let them leave," said defense attorney Robert Farinha.
The judge will have to decide if there's enough evidence to move forward.
Her children were snatched because her youngest got a broken bone and bruises in the tub.
CPS snatched all her kids.
Her kid died in foster care, her parental rights were terminated and the kids adopted out.
The body was exhumed and it was found that her child had brittle bones disease.
Instead of going after the child welfare system for snatching kids and killing her child, she decides to go after the law to have muslim kids placed in muslim foster care.
That is religious discrimination.
Her kids grew up to be christian and do not want much to do with her.
I do not believe she even bothered to sue the State of Michigan, let alone go to the FBI, but, instead, she opted out for the money, faith based, that is.
So now, she has a fancy foster care operation complete with faith based donations and money laundering to be the first muslim foster care facility.
Would that mean that non-muslim children would be turned away?
Would that mean that she will start trafficking tiny humans from muslim countries?
That would be an issue of forced migration, a war crime.
Would be just like St. Vincent and Bethany Christian, who are suing Michigan, turning away same sex adoption couples, except they would turn away non-muslims?
That would be religious segregation.
That last time I checked this was all very illegal which is why I am going to call this a money laundering operation.
Dearborn – The story of Rehab Amer and her husband Ahmad’s struggle to keep their children is known to many. After decades of legal battles, and eventual successes bringing the Amer Law to the state of Michigan in 2010, Amer and her community partners want to inject hope and self-determination into families across the nation.
Rehab Amer has been busy working towards building a strong non-profit organization that protects children and empowers parents.
I do not recommend continuing to this website.
According to the organization’s website, AMER, or American Muslim Empowerment Resources, will provide, “services and preventative resources, family judicial advocacy and developing of legislative initiatives for children and families in need.”
The AANews met with Amer and board member Hussein Siblini at New Yasmeen Bakery last week to discuss their important work of keeping families united and preventing children from being put into the foster care system where they could go through unchecked abuse or trauma.
Amer’s work, like the law she helped enact, seeks to bring cultural and religious sensitivity back into common sense childcare decisions made by the state and local authorities. More importantly, she has been actively working to advocate for families and ensure that Amer law is observed in judicial proceedings in foster care cases.
“I am a nurse and I left my job after hearing of the overwhelming need, from the community and from outside of it, for someone to be there for them during a potential child separation procedure,” Amer said.
“Our work is even more important when it comes to refugees, who may not speak the language,” she added. “If such a family comes (to this country) with seven or eight children and just one of them gets involved in the protective services system, the state will automatically want to remove all other children as well.”
Amer and her colleagues have a variety of strategies in place to prevent such summary removals and separations. The first of these is seeking out potentially risky family environments, especially in immigrant and refugee homes where cultural norms can be misinterpreted by state authorities as hazardous for children.
“There is a cultural barrier when it comes to these cases,” Siblini said. “A lack of knowledge on the part of Child Protective Services of cultural practices can lead to unfair judgments and child care assessments.”
Amer has personally intervened in several such cases and has helped bring welfare services and much needed resources to families who have had children taken from them, so that they do not face the same threat with the rest of their children.
In cases where children are to be put into foster care, Amer advocates for the next of kin or Muslim foster parents to take the child, following the Amer law.
“I currently have a 6-year-old in my care,” she added. “The importance of having a safe and fit family for a child can make a tremendous difference in his or her emotional life.”
Reflecting on her work, Amer noted that the legal procedure in these cases is often rushed.
“In my interventions I make sure the interpreter to refugee parents is communicating information accurately,” she said. “In some instances, we found that case workers did not inform the court that the family had relatives willing to take care of the child. I make sure to bring these relatives to court so that the judge can see the entire picture.”
Last February, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) introduced HR 4990, the Rehab and Ahmed Amer Foster Care Improvement Act of 2018. The legislation would require state foster care programs nationwide to ensure children are prioritized for placement with their relatives and puts additional requirements in place for a fairer decision-making process when an agency places a child.
Additionally, the legislation would require states to establish procedures that would allow any of the parties who receive notice of the placement decision to request, within five days after receipt of the notice, documentation explaining the reasons for the state’s decision.
It would also allow the child’s attorney to petition the court to review the decision and require that the court commence a review within seven days after receipt of the petition.
“This legislation needs nationwide support to pass,” Amer said. “I am urging the community to reach out to their state representatives and request their support by cosponsoring the bill with Congresswoman Dingell.”
The AMER Foundation is currently in the process of getting licensed to become an approved foster care agency. Amer also plans to grow the non-profit to expand its advocacy operations nationwide.
“We need the assistance and support of our community in order to make this vision a reality,” she said. “I would ask all parents, Muslim or not, to look into their hearts and see that the child’s best interest is to keep them close to their loved ones. I invite others to advocate with me in court, provide much needed resources to refugee parents and families and donate to the AMER Foundations mission to empower families.”
In Islam, khums (Arabic: خمس Arabic pronunciation: [xums], literally 'one fifth') refers to the required religious obligation of any Muslims to pay one-fifth of their acquired wealth from certain sources toward specified causes. It is treated differently in Shia and Sunni Islam. This tax is paid to the imam, caliph or sultan, representing the state of Islam,[1][2] for distribution between the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler.[3]In Sunni Islam tradition, the scope of khums tax has been ghanim, which is defined as the spoils of war. In Shia Islam tradition, states Abdulaziz Sachedina, the scope of khums tax has included, (1) booty (al-ghanima), (2) objects obtained from the sea (al-ghaws), (3) treasure (al-kanz), (4) mineral resources (al-ma'adin), (5) gainful earnings (arbaah al-makaasib, business profits), (6) the lawful (al-halaal) which has become mixed up with the unlawful (al-haraam), and (7) land which is transferred from a Muslim to a dhimmi (a free non-Muslim who is protected by a treaty of surrender) by the latter's purchase of it.[2][4] The recipients of the collected khums have been the descendants of Muhammad and the Islamic clergy.[5][6]Khums is a 20% tax that must be paid on all items regarded as ghanima (Arabic: الْغَنيمَة, booty seized with war). There are differing legal traditions within Islam about what constitutes ghanima, and thus how far-reaching khums should be. In some jurisdictions, khums included a 20% tax paid on business profit and on minerals extracted in regions under the control of the state. Khums is different and separate from other Islamic taxes such as zakat and jizya.[1][7]
Taxation without representation or money laundering into political campaign committees?
A wise one would amalgamate to two and follow the money to the United Arab Emeritus.
The name was changed from: AMERICAN MUSLIM EMPOWERMENT & RESOURCES CENTER IN on 07-28-2017
Entity type:DOMESTIC NONPROFIT CORPORATION
Identification Number:802004169
Old ID Number:72100X
Date of Incorporation in Michigan:04/21/2017
Purpose:
Term:Perpetual
Most Recent Annual Report:2018
Most Recent Annual Report with Officers & Directors:2018
The name and address of the Resident Agent:
Resident Agent Name:
REHAB AMER
Street Address:
922 N BEECH DALY
Apt/Suite/Other:
City:
DEARBORN HTS
State:
MI
Zip Code:
48127
Registered Office Mailing address:
P.O. Box or Street Address:
922 N BEECH DALY
Apt/Suite/Other:
City:
DEARBORN HTS
State:
MI
Zip Code:
48127
The Officers and Directors of the Corporation:
The corporation is formed on a Directorship basis.
