2002-05-21 -- Noman, Abdulla -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Yemeni National Working at U.S. Saudi Consulate Admits Taking Bribes for Falsified Visas

NEWARK - A former employee of the U.S. Department of Commerce stationed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, pleaded guilty today to accepting and soliciting bribes in exchange for assisting foreign nationals obtains visas to enter the United States under false pretenses, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Abdulla Noman, 52, a Yemeni citizen, admitted in court today that from September 1996 through Nov. 1, 2001, he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for assisting foreign nationals obtain visas under false pretenses, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.

According to the one-count Information to which he pleaded guilty, Noman was employed at the United States Commercial Service office of the American Consulate General in Jeddah. As part of his employment responsibilities, Noman was responsible for arranging for trade delegations to visit the United States.

Through this aspect of his employment, the Information charges, Noman became familiar with the procedures within the American Consulate in Jeddah for issuing visas to foreign nationals who wished to visit the United States.

Noman pleaded guilty before U.S. District Chief Judge John W. Bissell, who set sentencing for Sept. 4 at 9:30.

Noman admitted in court that, in exchange for unauthorized payments, he helped the foreign nationals obtain American visas by, among other things: listing false information on applications for visas to enter the United States, instructing foreign nationals to provide false information on their visa application forms, instructing foreign nationals to orally provide false information to other American officials at the American consulate in Jeddah and preparing fraudulent documents to be submitted in support of visa applications.

Noman also admitted that he fraudulently made it appear that the foreign nationals were legitimate members of trade delegations to the United States. In fact, he admitted knowing that they were not and that the foreign nationals whom he helped to obtain American visas intended to remain in the United States after the trade delegations with whom they traveled returned to Saudi Arabia.

The charge to which Noman pleaded guilty, accepting a thing of value in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act, carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000 or three times the amount of bribes received by the defendant.

Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Judge Bissell will determine the actual sentence based on a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, and the defendant's criminal history, if any. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Commerce, with developing the case against Noman.

-end-

Defense Attorney: Stanley Cohen, Esq., New York