29. Indianapolis--March/2005--fraudulently obtaining DL, CDL and citizenship. (possible espionage?)
This Indiana truck driver fraudulently obtained a DL and citizenship. It looks like marriage fraud was possibly involved (see timeline on side of article). He was authorized by the BMV to transport hazardous materials! Neighbors noticed box trucks going to and from his home at night. He is accused of trying to sell identities of US intelligence agents to the Iraqi government for millions of dollars before the Iraq War. He tried to set up a pro-Iraq Arabic TV station in the US with financial help from Saddam Hussein's government and wanted to organize volunteers to be human shields.
Cheree
http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/226724-4661-009.html
Hoosier jailed in Iraq conspiracy
Man accused of trying to sell U.S. spies' IDs
Greg Lipps stands in his driveway, across the street from the home (left) of Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, who has been charged with offenses against the United States. -- Adriane Jaeckle / The Star
Indictment lists suspect's activities
Here is a timeline of Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban's activities, according to federal indictment released Thursday:
• June 1994: Married U.S. citizen Hanan M. Zayed in Chicago.
• May 1997: Changed his name to Joe H. Brown.
• 1999: Moved from Illinois to the Indianapolis area.
• November 2000: Became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
• Oct. 26, 2002: Began his trip to Baghdad, Iraq, by flying on Air France from Chicago to Paris. He then flew to Damascus, Syria, before traveling on to Iraq.
• Nov. 1-4, 2002: Stayed at the Al Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi intelligence officers. He offered to sell the names of about 60 U.S. intelligence operatives for $5 million. Iraqi intelligence officers agreed to pay $3 million but required a sample of the names.
• Nov. 5, 2002: Left Iraq.
• March 25, 2003: Provided a message to be broadcast through the Iraqi media to support the government of Saddam Hussein and to urge Iraqis to resist the United States.
By Matthew Tully and Bill McCleery
matthew.tully@indystar.com
March 4, 2005
Federal officials have charged a Greenfield truck driver with offering to sell the Iraqi government the identities of U.S. intelligence agents in 2002, just months before the United States attacked that country.
Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban's arrest shocked his neighbors. By most accounts, he was quiet but friendly -- and joined in the neighborhood's Fourth of July celebration.
"Of course it's shocking," said Greg Lipps, who lives across the street from Shaaban. "This is Greenfield, Indiana, you know?"
Shaaban's actions "go to the heart of the nation's security," U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks said Thursday in announcing his arrest and indictment. Authorities believe the 52-year-old Shaaban is a Jordanian native with several aliases, including Joe Brown.
Now sitting in the Marion County Jail, Shaaban could face 10 years in prison, the loss of his U.S. citizenship and possible deportation if convicted of charges that include conspiracy and acting illegally as a foreign agent.
The federal government alleges Shaaban traveled to Iraq, where he agreed to take $3 million in return for the names of U.S. operatives in that country. Officials said they did not think the exchange of names for money occurred, explaining the absence of the more serious charges of espionage or treason.
But Brooks said the threat was nevertheless serious.
"Obviously, it's possible that those individuals could have been killed or their activities could have been closely monitored," Brooks said, referring to U.S. agents and operatives. "That is why these types of allegations are so serious."
It was unclear Thursday whether Shaaban had access to intelligence operatives' names. The indictment says Shaaban claimed he did through a source in another country.
The indictment, which follows a yearlong investigation, alleges Shaaban attempted to establish a pro-Iraqi Arabic TV station in the United States, with financial help from the Iraqi government. Also, the government said Shaaban attempted to reach a financial deal with Iraq to "organize volunteers to act as human shields" during the war.
Using his aliases, authorities said Shaaban fraudulently obtained an Indiana driver's license, including a commercial license to drive trucks. He is also accused of fraudulently obtaining his U.S. citizenship.
According to Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles records, Shaaban was authorized to transport hazardous materials. Brooks said it was not known whether Shaaban transported such materials or whether he posed a danger in this country.
"But when you think about what he was trying to do in Iraq right before the beginning of the war, which obviously shows what his intentions were, we have very serious concerns about his allegiance and loyalty to this country," Brooks said. "And it is difficult to know what he might do in this country."
U.S. officials would not discuss Shaaban's possible motives.
On the cul-de-sac where he lived with his wife and young son, residents knew the suspect as Joe Brown; federal officials say that's what Shaaban legally changed his name to in 1997.
Someone could be seen inside the Shaaban home, though no one answered a reporter's knock. The assistant principal of the local elementary school was let in -- after a neighbor offered to call the Shaaban home to say who was at the door.
Many reacted with disbelief. Betsey Lipps, Greg Lipps' wife, said Shaaban and his wife seemed like loving parents and, on at least one occasion, patriotic.
"They flew the American flag on the Fourth of July," she said.
Lipps said the family, who has lived in the neighborhood for at least a year, joined other neighbors in celebrating the holiday, bringing food and folding chairs to a pitch-in barbecue.
The couple's son enjoyed riding his bike around the cul-de-sac and jumping on the large trampoline, surrounded by a safety net, beside the family's home. His mother was always outside with her son, watching him closely, Lipps said. Other neighborhood children frequently visited the Shaabans.
"Our daughter plays over there all the time," said Greg Lipps.
Several residents said they had agreed not to talk about their neighbor but, before asking reporters to leave, said they believed Shaaban was innocent.
Those willing to talk said it was clear the Shaabans had international connections. He married a woman in Moscow in 1972, the indictment states.
"His (current) wife said he ran a political newspaper on the Internet over in Russia, where she said they originated from," Betsey Lipps recalled.
Neighbors said Shaaban's wife and son were home much more than he was. They sometimes noticed box trucks going to and from the home at night.
On Thursday, Betsey Lipps was startled to see her neighborhood filled with FBI vehicles. Agents were carrying items from the house from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shaaban held a variety of trucking jobs through the years, including one that he started just last week, said Brooks, who declined to provide the names of Shaaban's employers.
The FBI investigation into Shaaban's activities lasted for more than a year and culminated with his arrest Thursday at the Transportation Security Administration offices in Indianapolis. He had been called there to talk about the status of his commercial driver's license.
Officials would not say what led to the investigation into Shaaban's activities.
Booked in the Marion County Jail, Shaaban faces a preliminary hearing in federal court Wednesday. It was unclear Thursday if he had retained an attorney.
Federal officials are seeking to keep Shaaban behind bars for the length of his trial. Brooks said prosecutors would rely on "human and physical evidence" to make their case.
According to the indictment, Shaaban has been in the United States since at least 1994. He moved to Indianapolis from Illinois in 1999 and later moved to Greenfield. He was naturalized in 2000, using the name Shaaban Shaaban Hafed.
In October 2002, according to the indictment, Shaaban traveled to Iraq at the expense of that country's government and offered to sell the names of 60 U.S. intelligence officers to the Iraqis for $5 million. He later agreed to sell the names for $3 million. Authorities said the deal fell through after Iraqi government officials asked for a sample of names.
That same year, the indictment says, he attempted to help Iraq prepare human shields who would protect sites during a U.S. invasion and "provided a message to be broadcast through Iraqi media that . . . encouraged others to forcibly resist the United States."
According to the indictment, Shaaban has used several aliases, including Shaaban Shaaban Hafed and Joe H. Brown. Under different names, he has claimed to be a native of Jordan and Lebanon. U.S. authorities think he was born in 1952 in Jordan.
He faces six counts -- five carrying penalties of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000, and one with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But Brooks said the charges were structured in a way that Shaaban would likely serve no more than 10 years.
Star reporter Vic Ryckaert contributed to this story.
Call Star reporter Matthew Tully at (317) 444-6033.
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http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/227067-5854-009.html
U.S.: Russia trained Greenfield man to spy
Truck driver indicted in Iraq conspiracy also had 5 passports, court documents allege.
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By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com
March 5, 2005
A Greenfield truck driver accused of offering to sell the names of U.S. intelligence agents to the Iraqi government received espionage training in Russia about 30 years ago, authorities say.
Court documents released Friday in the case of Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban also reveal that the Jordanian native had five passports and used several Social Security numbers.
Shaaban, 52, was arrested Thursday. He is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Kennard Foster.
A federal grand jury this week indicted Shaaban on charges of conspiracy, acting illegally as a foreign agent, violating sanctions against Iraq, unlawful procurement of identification documents and unlawful procurement of naturalization.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and deportation.
While many questions about Shaaban remain unanswered, an espionage expert said he appears to have foreign support.
"It sounds like he was under some kind of deep cover," said Edward B. Atkeson, a senior fellow at the Arlington, Va.--based Institute of Land Warfare and a former chief of Army intelligence in Europe. "He's got some professional backing. He couldn't have built that kind of background and documentation by himself."
U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks and FBI spokeswoman Wendy Osborne would not disclose how Shaaban came under suspicion or what methods were used to build a case against him.
The indictment hints that wiretaps were used, noting that Shaaban had communicated by telephone and facsimile with Iraqi intelligence officers.
Brooks' office is seeking to have Shaaban detained until his trial. Documents released Friday cite his numerous aliases and state that Shaaban has threatened to harm anyone who turned him in.
Shaaban's attorney, public defender William H. Dazey, visited him Friday at the Marion County Jail. Dazey declined to be interviewed.
"There are at least two sides to every story," Dazey said in a written statement. "The Constitution provides for a presumption of innocence for anyone accused of a crime."
The FBI spent more than a year building its case against Shaaban.
Shaaban was born in Dzhariko, Jordan, on March 15, 1952, records say. He is believed to have been in the United States since at least 1993.
Shaaban changed his legal name to Joe H. Brown in 1997, but court documents say he maintained two separate identities. The indictment identifies him as Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban.
In 1972, he lived in Moscow and married his first wife, Svetlana Anatolevna Shaban. It's unclear whether they were divorced.
During his stay in Moscow, the federal government says, Shaaban received training from Russian intelligence agents. The documents do not detail what kind of training. Authorities refused to elaborate.
At the time, Atkeson said, the Soviet Union was active in the international spy game.
"They did everything. You name it, they were up to it," Atkeson said, noting that the fact that Shaaban was allowed to enter Russia is a signal that he was likely recruited.
"It was a police state -- nobody came in without their clear interest," Atkeson said. "They would take a Jordanian with the idea of using him somehow."
Shaaban's first wife is thought to reside in Florida. Attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.
According to a search of public records, Shaaban lives in a home in the 1300 block of Palm Court, Greenfield, with his current wife, Hanan M. Zayed, and their son. Shaaban has used at least 10 addresses and post office boxes in the past decade, records show.
He made a living as an over-the-road truck driver, hopping from employer to employer. Court documents say his known financial resources are limited and his employment is sporadic.
In 2003 and 2004, he worked for Greenfield-based Novelty Inc., which manufactures and distributes toys and trinkets. For some of the time that Shaaban drove for Novelty, the firm's "Iraq's 52 Most Wanted Playing Cards" were a hot seller, company attorney Jeanne Hamilton said.
Indianapolis-based Celadon Trucking apparently employed Shaaban twice under different names, according to company spokesman Craig Koven.
Shaaban, using the name Shaaban S. Hafed and an Indianapolis post office box, drove for Celadon from August 1999 to January 2000. From November 2000 to September 2001, Shaaban worked for the company again under the name Ahmed S. Shaban and gave an address in the 3100 block of Huber Street, Indianapolis.
Public records show Shaaban and his wife lived on Huber Street about the same time.
Huber Street neighbor Jeffrey Maag recalled thinking it strange that Shaaban had three satellite dishes on his roof.
"They pretty much stuck to themselves," Maag said.
Call Star reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2750.