Sentencing delayed for Arizona man who lied about ties to group that raised money for Hamas
By APFriday, December 11, 2009
Sentencing delayed in Ariz. terror-funding case
PHOENIX — Sentencing of an Arizona man who admitted lying to FBI agents in a terrorism-funding investigation has been delayed by a federal judge who ran out time after hearing hours of testimony.
Relatives and other supporters portrayed 55-year-old Mesa resident Akram Musa Abdallah as a pillar to the community and a person who worked to help people and build bridges between faiths.
Other testimony Friday came from an FBI agent who told how Abdallah repeatedly lied during 2007 interviews when questioned about his fundraising for the Hold Land Foundation for Relief and Development in the mid-1990s.
Holy Land leaders were convicted in a Dallas federal court last year of bankrolling schools and social welfare programs that prosecutors said were controlled by Hamas.
