Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Irvine man guilty of fraud to gain citizenship
The case against Hares Ajmal Ahmadzai is the first criminal denaturalization trial in Orange County, authorities say

The Orange County Register
By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI rsrisavasdi@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com

SANTA ANA – Hares Ajmal Ahmadzai of Irvine had a choice: Plead guilty to naturalization fraud and get a potentially lighter prison sentence, but lose U.S. citizenship and possibly be sent back to his native homeland, Afghanistan.

Ahmadzai, 35, didn't want to leave the country, his attorney, David Kaloyanides says, and decided to go to trial.

On Wednesday, Ahmadzai lost. In reportedly the first-ever "criminal denaturalization" trial in Orange County, he was found guilty of lying about his rap sheet – which includes arrests for false impersonation and battery -- on two applications to become an American citizen. He became a citizen in October 1994.

Listening to the verdict, Ahmadzai briefly closed his eyes and bowed his head. Two of his relatives, one his niece, muffled their sobs. They declined to comment.

"He's taking this very hard,'' Kaloyanides said outside the courtroom. "He had great hopes of keeping his citizenship."

Ahmadzai also faces up to 10 years in prison, plus additional time for separate charges of passport fraud when he is sentenced Jan. 28 by U.S. Circuit Court Judge James V. Selna in federal court.

Such denaturalization proceedings – which can be criminal or civil -- are uncommon. Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in the past 12 months, three individuals in a seven-county area, including Orange County, have pled guilty to such charges and lost their citizenship. Since 1999, about 200 people nationwide had their citizenship revoked through civil lawsuits.

"Citizenship is one of the greatest benefits our country bestows on immigrants,'' said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Not only are they compromising the integrity of the legal immigrant system, but stealing a precious gift that the American people give."

During the two-day trial, federal prosecutor Andrew Stolper alleged Ahmadzai answered 'no' on two naturalization applications, though he was on probation at the time for battery and had been arrested before for impersonating another individual.

The FBI does conduct background checks on those applying for citizenship. But in Ahmadzai's case, there were no convictions on his record when he applied in 1992. Authorities point out that Ahmadzai did lie because the application asks if an individual has ever been arrested.

Ahmadzai took the stand in his own defense. He told jurors that he and his family came to the United States when he was approximately 12 years old in 1986 and were granted political asylum. He testified he was given a green card.

In 1992, he said he applied to be a citizen. On one application, he explained that he checked 'no' when asked if he has ever been arrested or convicted for an incident because he considered his 1989 arrest for false impersonation in Santa Ana a minor traffic infraction. He also said he did not remember filling out a second application at his naturalization ceremony in 1994, which also indicates he had no prior criminal history.

Besides the naturalization and passport fraud counts, Ahmadzai also faces multiple felonies – including forgery and perjury -- in state court. Those incidents are related to the passport fraud counts but not related to the naturalization case, authorities say.