U.S. Military Interpreter Charged As Fraud

Mysterious Moroccan worked in Iraq, had "high-level" clearance

OCTOBER 17--In an embarrassing security breach, an Arabic interpreter who handled classified material while working for the last two years with U.S. military units in Iraq has been arrested after FBI agents discovered that he had so completely fabricated his identity and background that they are still unsure of his true name and have formally charged him as "FNU LNU" (first name unknown, last name unknown). According to a criminal complaint filed (with no fanfare or press release) last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, the interpreter, who had been granted a "high-level clearance to access classified information," has been charged with making a variety of false statements to FBI and Department of Defense officials as well as the Immigration and Naturalization Service.