Ex-Officers Of Islamic Charity Indicted (Tied To Ptech Software Firm)
Ex-Officers of Islamic Charity Indicted [tied to Ptech software firm]
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - 11:01 PM
By THEO EMERY -- The Associated Press
Mubayyid, 40, Care's treasurer, has been employed by a Quincy software firm that was in the news two years ago after federal agent searched its offices as part of an investigation into funding of terrorist groups. No charges were ever brought against the software company or its officers.
BOSTON (AP) - Two former officers of an Islamic charity were indicted on federal charges accusing them of lying to authorities investigating the charity's alleged ties to terrorist organizations. Emadeddin Muntasser, the former head of Care International, and Muhammed Mubayyid, the group's former treasurer, were arrested Thursday following their Wednesday indictment on charges of concealing information from federal agencies, conspiring to defraud the United States, and making false statements to the FBI. The charity is now defunct.
``Organizations that conceal their true activities to abuse our tax laws, and in this case fund their support of the mujahideen and jihad, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,'' said U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan.
The indictment was disclosed the same day Muntasser was scheduled to have a hearing in federal court on his application for U.S. citizenship. U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel held off on ruling on Muntasser's application for citizenship.
Muntasser's attorney, Jeremiah Friedman, declined to comment after a brief closed-door hearing in Boston.
Muntasser, 40, the owner of the Logan Furniture chain and a Libyan national, was a founding president of the Boston-based charity Care International.
Mubayyid, 40, Care's treasurer, has been employed by a Quincy software firm that was in the news two years ago after federal agent searched its offices as part of an investigation into funding of terrorist groups. No charges were ever brought against the software company or its officers.
Mubayyid donated $360 to the Alkifah Refugees Center in New York, according to a receipt obtained by The Investigative Project. The New York organization was named by federal prosecutors as the center of the conspiracy to bomb the World Trade Center in 1993.
Care International says in its promotional materials that it was formed to help war orphans, widows and refugees in Muslim nations. The organization, which is not affiliated with the global relief group CARE International, has been scrutinized because of its links to groups that support terrorism.
05/12/05 17:39 EDT
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
Indira Singh has been blowing the whistle for good reason. Her past statements are being borne out with these arrests. But what of the bigger cheese and financiers of Ptech who were also involved in CARE? And why was MA Representative Delahunt making noise about Ptech the other day during a Sub-committee on Homeland Security? Who was it that said their software (installed in FAA, Air Force, Secret Service computers) was safe? Search our site for stories on Indira Singh and Ptech for more details. -Ed.
