Thread: illegal alien student arrested After Pilot Uniform found!

http://www.memphisflyer.com/gyrobase/Co ... id%3A10165

Brash Behavior or Terrorism?
Egyptian "pilot747" is the second Memphis Muslim held without bond because of suspected terrorist connections.
JOHN BRANSTON

> Exhibit A: Mahmoud Maawad, an Egyptian student at the University of Memphis living illegally in the United States for six years with a bogus Social Security number, got an apartment near campus -- and a few miles from Memphis International Airport. He furnished it with nothing more than a bedroll and a computer, which he used to order $3,300 worth of pilot gear over the Internet, including a DVD titled How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act and a map of the airport terminal even though he is not a pilot. He gave the vendor, Sporty's Pilot Shop, an overdrawn debit card and used the e-mail address "pilot747."

Exhibit B: Rafat Mawlawi, a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship in Syria, lived in a quiet neighborhood near Craigmont High School. Because he has a felony conviction, he is not supposed to own firearms, but he kept a shotgun and three loaded handguns in a safe in his home. He also kept a 1997 photograph of himself shouldering a rocket-powered grenade launcher in Bosnia while standing next to an associate of Osama bin Laden, $34,000 in cash, and al Mujahadeen videotapes in Arabic. When federal agents arrested him at his home in April, he lied to them before admitting he was moving to Syria.

So what do we have here? Two cases of post-9/11 criminal stupidity? Two cases of an overzealous Terrorism Task Force trying to justify all the money spent on counter-terrorism by locking up a couple of Muslims? Or two terrorism suspects?

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the United States Attorney's Office in Memphis are not taking any chances. Maawad was jailed without bond last week. Mawlawi has been in the federal correctional institution in Mason, Tennessee, without bond since April. Neither defendant is charged with terrorism. Maawad, 29, was charged with wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. He has pleaded not guilty and is not likely to go to trial for several weeks. Mawlawi, 55, was charged with illegal possession of firearms, immigration violations, and conspiracy to organize a sham-marriage scam involving Memphis women and Middle Eastern men. His trial is set for October 3rd.

Federal prosecutors and FBI agents won't comment outside of the courtroom. Attempts by the Flyer to interview Mawlawi in prison have been discouraged by prison officials and his attorneys, Lorna McClusky and Bill Massey. Mawlawi said in a letter to the Flyer that he would like to talk. His brother Nabil, who owns a sandwich shop in Bartlett, has been trying to arrange an interview but without success.

Nabil Mawlawi, an American citizen, said his brother is not a terrorist sympathizer. Rafat Mawlawi served 12 years in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged. His 1993 arrest record stemmed from a divorce and some missed court appearances. He got five months probation on a fraud conviction. His brother explained the photograph with the rocket launcher as the sort of macho souvenir picture that an American hunter, gangster-wannabe, or paramilitary freak might have. Rafat Mawlawi was teaching school in Bosnia after the war, when weapons were plentiful. As for the videos, Nabil Mawlawi does not condone them but says that such material is readily available on the Internet and that his brother was probably motivated by simple curiosity.

Mahmoud Maawad spoke on his own behalf at his hearing last week. He said he is a full-time student at the University of Memphis and worked for cash at a convenience store on Chelsea in North Memphis. He admitted he is in the United States illegally and was busted in March for selling liquor to a minor. He said his bogus Social Security number was issued to him as a student ID number in 1998 when he was in New Jersey. Somehow he used it to get utilities and a debit card and enroll in school. He entered the United States at New York City from Egypt in 1998, and his visitor's visa expired in 1999.

Assistant U.S. attorney Steve Parker said Maawad failed to register at the U of M as an international student as required and was working illegally. He has no family in Memphis. "His entire presence in this country has been one unlawful thing after another," he said.

Maawad lived in Olive Branch, Mississippi, for an unknown length of time before moving in June to an apartment at 3557 Mynders. An FBI agent testified that the apartment did not have furniture, a television, a bed, or a clock. Agents who searched it found a bedroll on the floor, a few clothes, a desk and chair, and shelves containing DVDs and books that Maawad bought over the Internet between June 25th and August 6th of 2005.

Sporty's Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio, sells educational materials and equipment to private pilots, according to spokesman Bill Anderson. Maawad ran up $2,500 worth of purchases on his debit card and tried to buy another $800 worth of items before Sporty's Pilot Shop rejected his card and notified the FBI. The purchases included a private-pilot course, flight-simulator software, a flight gear bag, radio communications handbook, maps of the Memphis airport, a Navy flight jacket, the DVD How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act, and instructional programs on "airplane talk."

Memphis is the number-one cargo airport in the world. Hundreds of jets from FedEx, UPS, and passenger airlines take off and land every day. Earlier this summer, a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal outlined how FedEx is one of the federal government's key partners in the war against terrorism and how they share information about possible terrorism activities.

It's no wonder that Parker described this case as "scary."

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4056179

Posted by Dan Taylor
Egyptian Student's Trial May be Delayed by New Evidence
Nov 1, 2005, 05:36 AM PST

MEMPHIS, Tenn -A federal prosecutor in Memphis wants a delay in the trial of an immigrant student, charged with using a phony Social Security number.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker wrote in his motion that new evidence has been located on defendant Mahmoud Maawad's laptop computer. Parker didn't describe the nature of the evidence, but said it hasn't been removed from the computer and can't be shared with the defense in time for the scheduled trial this month.

Maawad is 29. He entered the U.S. legally from Egypt in 1998 on a student visa, but the government says he has been an illegal immigrant since 1999.

Maawad was investigated by the FBI after he ordered aviation materials, including DVD's, a pilot's uniform and a chart of Memphis International Airport.

"My school is everything. I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school," he said.

From what I have read and what jhaerlyn, whom is an expert in American education, had said, the schools in U.S.A are poor in quality. Why would you want to sneak in here to go to one?

http://www.southernstandard.net/news.ph ... tory=26328

Illegal immigrant with pilot gear set for trial in March

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. â€â€

http://www.wmcstations.com

Egyptian student had terrorist leanings, prosecutors say
Feb 21, 2006, 05:37 PM PST
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Prosecutors in Memphis say an Egyptian man charged with using a fake Social Security number to enroll at a Memphis college was either planning or participating in a potential terrorist event.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mahmoud Maawad has been held without bond since his arrest in September while he was a student at the University of Memphis.

He drew the attention of federal authorities when a search of his apartment turned up DVD's on pilot training and charts on the layout of the Memphis airport. One of the DVD's was titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."

Authorities refuse to talk about their ongoing investigation of Maawad. But in a court filing, prosecutors said a computer seized from his apartment showed he was linking to web sites that are associated with a radical Sunni Muslim organization in Iraq.

The filing said traces of Internet activity on the computer also showed searches for information on how guns and bombs can be smuggled past airport security.

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4539755

Posted By Roswell Encina
Feds Unseal Documents & Pictures in Accused Terrorist Case

MEMPHIS - Never-before seen snap shots inside the Memphis apartment of an accused terrorist. Feds say Mahmoud Maawad had a bookcase of flying manuals and books, a stack of aviation DVDs, a pilot's uniform in the closet and even a bomber jacket.

We showed the pictures to a former neighbor of Maawad. "It does surprise me. I was like who is this person how come I didn't know this person."

The feds also say Maawad ordered pilot's merchandise and books from sporty's pilot shop on the internet. The internet receipts show Maawad ordering flight simulators and long list of flying books and videos.

But the feds say that's not all. FBI agents found a chart of Memphis International Airport. And new details about where Maawad was going online are even more disturbing. For example, the site of a radical Sunni Muslim group led by Al Queda leader Abu Musab al-Zarquawi. The feds say Maawad also searched sites on how to smuggle "guns and bombs" into the airport. And even looked up "car bombs."

For now prosecutors have charged Maawad with wire fraud and using a false social security number to work at a Chelsea Avenue gas station and to enroll at the University of Memphis.

Back to the former neighbor, he just hopes people can realize most Muslims like him are happy to be here. "It doesn't really mean all Muslim's are terrorists. What he believes is totally different."

Maawad's trial is scheduled for next month. His attorney didn't return our phone calls for comment.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/artic ... 23,00.html

Feds: Egyptian student using fake SSN
By BY WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press
February 22, 2006


MEMPHIS — An Egyptian man charged with using a fake Social Security number to enroll at a Memphis college was "either planning or participating in a potential terrorist event," prosecutors said in federal court records.
Mahmoud Maawad, 29, has been held without bond since his arrest in September while he was a student at the University of Memphis.

He drew the attention of federal authorities when a search of his apartment turned up DVDs on pilot training and charts on the layout of the Memphis airport. One of the DVDs was titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."

Authorities refuse to talk about their ongoing investigation of Maawad, but in a court filing Feb. 16, prosecutors said a computer seized from his apartment showed he was "linking to web sites that are associated with Ansar Al-Islam, a radical Sunni Muslim organization in Iraq."

Traces of Internet activity on the computer also showed searches for information on how guns and bombs can be smuggled past airport security, the filing said.

Prosecutors said they believed Maawad's "motivation for fraudulent obtaining the flight training materials is because he was either planning or participating in a potential terrorist event inside the United States."

The filing by the U.S. Attorney's office came in answer to a defense "discovery" request for information on the government's evidence against Maawad. Prosecutors gave few details in the open-records portion of their response, but showed their concerns that Maawad was planning an act of violence.

"There are also remnants in defendant's computer indicating he had entered a search using the term 'car bomb,"' the filing says.

A federal magistrate ordered Maawad held without bond in September when investigators said he had been in the United States illegally since 1999, had no legal means of support and no family in Memphis.

Authorities said they had no evidence directly linking Maawad to terrorists but asked for his detention as a precaution.

Maawad drew attention when Sporty's U.S.A., a company selling aviation gear, complained that he failed to pay for $3,000 worth of goods ordered over the Internet.

Maawad is charged in a federal indictment with defrauding the company with a debit card for an account with insufficient funds to cover his Internet orders.

He is also charged with using a fake Social Security number to open the bank account and enroll at the University of Memphis.

The university has acknowledged Maawad was enrolled as a student but has declined to release further information about him, citing privacy restrictions.

Authorities say Maawad came to the United States on a visitor's visa and stayed on illegally after it expired.

He briefly enrolled at two community colleges in New Jersey before moving to Memphis and was working as a convenience store clerk at the time of his arrest.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/ar ... 30,00.html

Arrest based on terrorist attack, prosecutors say
By LAWRENCE BUSER
February 21, 2006


A University of Memphis student arrested last September with a pilot's uniform and other flight-training materials in his apartment was preparing for a terrorist attack on the United States, new documents in the case allege.

Mahmoud Maawad was charged with wire fraud and using a false Social Security number, but authorities now say he was visiting online chatrooms and Web sites supporting radical Sunni Muslim organizations and al Qaeda leaders in Iraq.

They said an examination of his computer also showed Maawad had searched the Internet for how guns and bombs could be smuggled through airport magnetometers and had used key words such as "car bomb" in other searches.

"It is the United States' position that Mr. Maawad's motivation for fraudulent obtaining the flight training materials is because he was either planning or participating in a potential terrorist event inside the United States," Assistant. U.S. Atty. Steve Parker wrote.

Parker declined comment. Maawad, who is being held without bond, is scheduled for trial next month.

FBI agents raided the Egyptian student's campus apartment on Sept. 9, and found a pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport, documents of Western Union transfers to and from Maawad, and instructional DVDs such as "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings" and "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."

He has been in the United States illegally since 1999 and has used a phony Social Security number to open bank accounts and enroll in schools, Parker said soon after the arrest.

According to the indictment, between June 24 and Aug. 6 last year Maawad made 12 purchases totaling $3,544.78 via the Internet from Sporty's U.S.A., a pilot shop just east of Cincinnati.

Newly disclosed evidence in the case includes printouts of chatroom discussions on a Web site with an opening message that thanks Allah "for all your Jihad" and says Iraq is "standing alone in the face of the Zionist crusader aggression." An entry posted by Mahmoud Maawad reads, "i union with you and i completely agree."

Also included are e-mails in which the Transportation Security Administration denied permission for Maawad to receive flight training and told him it would be a criminal offense to seek training without TSA approval. Authorities said Maawad replied with an "angry response stating he would violate the law."

http://www.memphisflyer.com/gyrobase/Co ... id%3A12239

Potential Terror?
U of M terror suspect to jihadists: "i union with you and i completely agree."
JOHN BRANSTON


Prosecutors believe that Mahmoud Maawad, an Egyptian student at the University of Memphis arrested last year by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, was planning or participating in a potential terror attack inside the United States, the Flyer has learned.

The latest disclosures in Maawad's case are contained in a February 16th letter from assistant U.S. attorney Steve Parker to Maawad's court-appointed counsel. Maawad, who was living illegally in the U.S. for six years with a bogus Social Security number, has been held without bond since he was arrested. Federal agents have searched his computer hard drive and examined his e-mails, college records, chatroom discussions, and Western Union transfers.

Their conclusion: Maawad, whose e-mail sign-on was pilot747, "was linking to Web sites that are associated with Ansar Al-Islam, a radical Sunni Muslim organization in Iraq led by Abu Musab al-Zarquawi. Many news reports refer to Mr. Zarquawi as leading the Al-Queda group in Iraq."

Maawad was living in an apartment on Mynders near the U of M campus which was furnished with little more than a bedroll, desk, and computer he used to order $3,300 worth of pilot gear over the Internet. He ordered a DVD titled How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act and a map of the Memphis airport terminal, even though he is not a pilot. He also purchased a private-pilot course, flight-simulation software, and instructional programs on "airplane talk" from Sporty's Pilot Shop, an online retailer.

The government has indicated it plans to introduce evidence that will show Maawad's motivation for buying flight material.

"The computer indicates that the defendant was entering searches on the Yahoo search engine that indicate that he was attempting to investigate how guns and bombs could be smuggled through airports' magnetometers," according to documents the Flyer has viewed. "There are also remnants in defendant's computer indicating he had entered a search using the term 'car bomb.' Additionally, [Maawad] made specific searches seeking to purchase commercial flight uniforms."

Most disturbing, though, was Maawad's participation in an Internet chatroom that starts with a posting thanking Allah "for all your Jihad" and stating that the only legitimate regimes in Arab states are Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. The posting says Iraq is standing alone in the face of "zionist-crusader aggression" and the "fierce aggression from the supposedly Arab brothers."

A posting by Maawad, identified as an engineering student in the United States, states, "i [sic] union with you and i [sic] completely agree."

If the case goes to trial, the government also plans to introduce as evidence e-mails between Maawad and the Transportation Security Administration in which he is denied permission to undertake flight training. The government says Maawad was angered by this and stated "he would violate the law."

Maawad worked for cash at a convenience store on Chelsea in North Memphis. He was cited last March for selling liquor to a minor. He told authorities his bogus Social Security number was issued to him in 1998 in New Jersey. He entered the U.S. at New York City from Egypt in 1998, and his visitor's visa expired in 1999. He lived in Olive Branch, Mississippi, for an unknown length of time before moving to the address near the U of M campus last summer.

Maawad's case is one of two Joint Terrorism Task Force cases in Memphis involving Muslims in Memphis. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee has said that anti-terrorism is its top priority. The other case involves Rafat Mawlawi, a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship in Syria. He was arrested last April after federal agents searched his home and found illegal guns and jihadist videos. He pleaded guilty in January to weapons and immigration charges and is being held pending sentencing.


Date created: 02/24/2006

http://www.commercialappeal.com

Egyptian student pleads guilty
June 5, 2006

An Egyptian immigrant who raised government fears about possible terrorist plans but was not charged with terrorism pleaded guilty Monday to fraud.

Mahmoud Maawad, 29, was ordered held without bond until sentencing July 14 and will be subject to deportation after any prison term. Authorities say he has been in the United States illegally since 1999, when his visitor’s visa expired.

The guilty plea was accepted by Judge Bernice Donald of U.S. District Court. Maawad is represented by the federal public defender’s office, which has refused to comment on his case.

Maawad has been in federal custody since he was arrested in September on charges of using a depleted bank account to make purchases over the Internet. He also was charged with using a fake Social Security number to enroll at the University of Memphis, where he was a student when arrested.

He drew the attention of federal authorities when a search of his apartment turned up DVDs on pilot training and charts on the layout of the Memphis airport. One of the DVDs was titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."

Authorities refuse to talk about their investigation of Maawad but court records showed that investigators believed he may have been planning a terrorist act. No evidence of direct links to terrorism was presented in court.

Maawad pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining merchandise through Internet orders to Sporty’s U.S.A., an Ohio based company that sells aviation related training materials and equipment.