Fraud Charge For Man Held In Failed NY Attack

November 16, 2010

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers take Aftab Ali Khan into custody outside a home searched by FBI agents in Watertown. (AP)

A Pakistani man arrested during the investigation of the failed Times Square bombing has appeared in a Boston court to face immigration fraud charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday charged Aftab Ali Khan with immigration fraud and making false statements. Khan appeared in court briefly Tuesday. A detention hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Prosecutors questioned Khan after he gave $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, of Connecticut, who was later convicted in the bombing attempt. But they say it was part of a "hawala" transaction to get an equivalent amount to Khan's family in Pakistan, and they don't accuse him of knowing what Shahzad would do with the money.

The complaint says Khan, 28, got married after entering the U.S. in 2009, then filed false papers to adjust his immigration status without disclosing an illegal job at a gas station in Brookline.

Khan's court-appointed attorney had no comment after the hearing.

Earlier:

Federal Agents Link Watertown Arrest to Times Square Bomb

This program aired on November 16, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.