Three people with links to one of the San Bernardino attackers were arrested Thursday in a marriage fraud conspiracy, federal officials said. Charges include federal conspiracy, marriage fraud and false statements.
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RIVERSIDE, California (CNN) – Federal authorities have arrested three people in a criminal marriage fraud investigation linked to San Bernardino, California, terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, the USA attorney’s office said Thursday.
Syed Raheel Farook, 31, was taken into custody Thursday morning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with his 31-year-old wife, Tatiana Farook, and her 26-year-old sister Mariya Chernykh. No arrests were made, and the affidavit for the warrant was sealed by a court, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but local media reports said they were at the home belonging to Raheel and Tatiana Farook.
Tatiana Farook accompanied Chernykh to buy a $50 wedding ring, and Marquez and Chernyk posed for staged photographs to make the marriage appear real, prosecutors said.
All three defendants arrested on Thursday are charged with conspiring “to knowingly make under oath a false statement”. The Dec. 2 shootings carried out by Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were the deadliest terror strike on US soil since September 11, 2001. Additionally, Chernykh is also charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, perjury, and two counts of making false statements to federal agents.
U.S. authorities arrested the three individuals in Corona, California earlier on Thursday.
They were charged with conspiring to concoct the illusion of a marriage between Marquez and Chernykh and face up to five years in federal prison if convicted.
Acting Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, James Struyk, said, “Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force worked around the clock in an attempt to find immediate answers in the days and weeks following the December murders in San Bernardino to ensure no additional threats to the community were present”.
After working out bail – $25,000 for Syed Raheel Farook, and $35,000 for Tatiana Farook – the two were released. He has pleaded not guilty. Both raids are connected to the ongoing investigation into the December 2015 rampage, where Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and wounded 21 others at a holiday gathering of Farook’s coworkers.
In addition to the charges for these earlier plots, Marquez was also accused of defrauding immigration services by entering into a sham marriage with Chernykh. Tatiana’s sister, Mariya Chernykh, was still awaiting arraignment.
Syed Rizwan Farook was a county health inspector who targeted his co-workers at an annual training session in what became the deadliest terror strike on USA soil since September 11, 2001. Attorneys representing the Farook family didn’t immediately return calls for comment.
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Eimiller says the US attorney’s office is expected to issue a statement. Syed Rizwan Farook and Malik opened fire at an annual training of Farook’s San Bernardino County co-workers.
