Jury selection begins in Elzahabi's immigration trial

Associated Press - July 30, 2007 1:04 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jury selection is under way in the trial of Mohamad Elzahabi (EHL'-zah-hah-bee).

He was arrested about three years ago as a terror suspect. But he wasn't charged with terrorist activity.

Instead, he's on trial in federal court in Minneapolis on three counts of possessing a fraudulent immigration document. Elzahabi is from Lebanon and authorities say he paid a woman to marry him so he could get a green card. He then used that green card to try to get jobs in Minnesota.

Before jury selection began, a judge granted a prosecution request to introduce evidence that Elzahabi may have committed other fraud.

Prosecutors will tell the jury that Elzahabi damaged his Lebanese passport on purpose after visiting certain countries and then got a new passport in exchange. They'll also tell the jury that Elzahabi helped another man get a fraudulent driver's license in Massachusetts.

Assistant US Attorney Anders Folk says the government won't use any evidence of alleged terrorism in this trial.

Elzahabi also faces two other counts of lying to FBI agents.

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