New Haven Resident Who Made False Statements During Citizenship Process is Sentenced

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MOHAMED NAJM KAMASH, also known as Mohamed Najm Mohamed Ali Kamash, 33, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to approximately two months of imprisonment, time already served, and two years of supervised release, for making false statements during his citizenship process.

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.

Kamash was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 5, 2022, and was released on bond on June 30, 2022.  On March 25, 2024, he pleaded guilty to making a false statement in a naturalization proceeding.

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