Prosecutors: Illegal immigrant worked for FBI, CIA, stole info
Woman was sister-in-law of fugitive La Shish restaurant owner, stole info on
investigation
November 13, 2007
By DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The sister-in-law of the indicted fugitive owner of the La Shish restaurant
chain got sensitive jobs at the FBI and CIA, despite being an illegal
immigrant, federal prosecutors said in court documents unsealed today in
Detroit.
The woman, Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, of Vienna, Va., also tapped into a
sensitive FBI computer to find out what federal investigators knew about
her, La Shish restaurant owner Talal Chahine, and her sister, who is married
to Chahine.
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Prosecutors said she took an unknown quantity of classified information home
with her. It's unclear what happened, or what she did with the information,
prosecutors said.
The information pertained to a federal investigation of Chahine and his
possible involvement with Hizballah, which has been declared a terrorist
organization by the U.S State Department.
In 2002, Chahine and his wife, Elfat El Aouar, attended a fundraising event
in Lebanon, where the keynote speakers were Hizballah leaders.
Prouty pleaded guilty to conspiracy, unauthorized computer access and
naturalization fraud during a 30-minute hearing before U.S. District Judge
Avern Cohn. The most serious charge, naturalization fraud, carries a maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Under the terms of a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Prouty would
face a prison sentence of 6-12 months, be stripped of her U.S. citizenship
and be ordered deported. Prouty hired an unemployed U.S. citizen to marry
her in 1990, a year after she entered the country and overstayed her student
visa.
However, prosecutors said she won't be allowed to leave the U.S. because she
used to work for the FBI and CIA and has access to sensitive information
vital to homeland security.
It remained unclear why background checks the FBI and CIA conducted before
hiring her didn't reveal her illegal immigration status. Also unclear is why
the forerunner agency to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn't
find out about the marriage fraud.
Court documents said Chahine, who fled to Lebanon in 2005 to avoid
tax-evasion charges, vouched for the legitimacy of her marriage.
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Woman with links to Hezbollah infiltrates CIA, FBI, prosecutors say
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A Lebanese immigrant, the sister-in-law of fugitive LaShish
Restaurants owner Talal Chahine, used fraudulent U.S. citizenship obtained
through a bogus marriage to land jobs with the Central Intelligence Agency
and the FBI, federal prosecutors in Detroit said today.
While working as an FBI special agent, Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, of Vienna,
Va., gained unauthorized access to a Detroit FBI computer case file about an
investigation into the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to court files
unsealed today.
Prouty pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiracy to defraud the
United States, unauthorized computer access, and naturalization fraud.
Though officials stressed Prouty is not charged with espionage or spying for
Hezbollah, the case raises serious questions about security screening by the
CIA and the FBI.
According to an information unsealed today, Lebanese-born Prouty gained U.S.
citizenship in 1994 through a fraudulent marriage, joined the FBI's
Washington Field Office as special agent in 1999 and joined the CIA in June,
2003.
"This case highlights the importance of conducting stringent and thorough
background investigations," U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy said in a news
release.
"It's hard to imagine a greater threat than a situation where a foreign
national uses fraud to attain citizenship and then, based on that fraud,
insinuates herself into a sensitive position in the U.S. government."
Prouty resigned her CIA post, described as "mid-level," last week, officials
said.
Chahine, a fugitive believed to be living in Lebanon, was indicted for tax
evasion in 2006 and accused by federal agents of supporting Hezbollah.
One of the allegations against Prouty is that while an FBI agent she went
into a computer system without authorization in 2003 and obtained
information about the Detroit's FBI office's investigation of Hezbollah.
Prouty, a former LaShish waitress, faces six to 12 months in prison and loss
of her citizenship under a plea agreement.
The case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Chadwell.
Hezbollah, also known as the "Party of God," is an Islamic militant group
based in Lebanon that has been designated a terrorist organization by the
U.S. government since 1997.
Hezbollah, in addition to attacks on Israel, were blamed for the 1983
bombings of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon, which killed
258 Americans.
The Shiite group has financial ties and other links with Iran. It has
political and social welfare functions in addition to military roles.
You can reach Paul Egan at (313) 222-2069 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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