New Haven Resident Admits Making False Statements During Citizenship Process

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that MOHAMED NAJM KAMASH, also known as Mohamed Najm Mohamed Ali Kamash, 33, of New Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to making a false statement in a naturalization proceeding.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Kamash is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., having immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq in 2014.  On August 17, 2021, Kamash appeared in Hartford for a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) interview about his pending Application of Naturalization (Form N-400), and was placed under oath.  During the interview with a USCIS agent, Kamash knowingly and falsely stated that he did not know anyone involved with a terrorist organization and that no member of his family was involved with a terrorist organization.

At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Kamash faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

Kamash was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 5, 2022.  He is released on a $250,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Doherty and Konstantin Lantsman.