Saudi man who attended terrorist training pleads to fraud

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Saudi Arabian man has pleaded guilty in an Oklahoma City federal court to fraud for failing to disclose that he attended an al-Qaida terrorist training camp in Afghanistan before entering the U.S.

Court documents filed Friday show 35-year-old Naif Abdulaziz Alfallaj of Weatherford pleaded guilty and admitted he obtained a visa by fraud and lied to the FBI during its investigation of him. He faces up to 18 years in prison.

As part of a plea agreement, a second count of visa fraud is being dismissed and prosecutors agreed to recommend an undisclosed lesser sentence.

A February indictment says Alfallaj was granted a visa in 2011 after answering “no” when asked if he supported terrorist organizations or had received firearms training.

He has lived in Oklahoma since 2012.