Former Department of Defense Employees Plead Guilty to Citizenship Fraud

Two former Department of Defense employees pleaded guilty in federal court Monday, July 2, 2012, to attempting to illegally obtain and illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of State.

Adeba Sultana, 47, admitted giving false information when she applied for U.S. citizenship in 2008. Sultana acknowledged she used a false name and provided erroneous biographical information on that application, claiming her husband had been killed and falsely describing her method of entry into the United States in various immigration benefits applications. In her application for naturalization, which was approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Sultana lied about her citizenship status and claimed she had not previously provided false information to U.S. immigration officials to obtain an immigration benefit.

Similarly, Sultana's husband, Mohammad Ali Rabbani, 58, admitted giving a false name, false citizenship information, and lying about his method of entry into the United States on his application for asylum and other immigration applications. In his application for naturalization, Rabbani gave false information regarding his citizenship status and falsely claimed he had not previously lied to U.S. immigration officials to obtain an immigration benefit.

The San Diego couple were previously employed as language instructors at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif.

Rabbani and Sultana were indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2011. Rabbani was charged with one count of attempted false procurement of naturalization. Sultana was charged with one count of false procurement of naturalization.

Rabbani and Sultana are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15 before U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Davila. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of unlawful procurement or attempted procurement of citizenship is 10 years and a fine of $250,000. Sultana also faces mandatory revocation of her citizenship status.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Ursini and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Knight are prosecuting the case.

20 Ways to Help and Prevent International Human Trafficking

20 Ways to Help Victims of Human Trafficking

After first learning about human trafficking, many people want to help in some way but do not know how. Here are just a few ideas for your consideration.

1.                               Learn human trafficking red flags and ask follow up questions so that you can detect a potential trafficking situation.

2.                               In the United States, report your suspicions to law enforcement at 911, Department of Justice at 1-888-428-7581, and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888. Victims, including undocumented individuals, are eligible for services and immigration assistance.

3.                               Be a conscientious consumer. Make socially responsible investments. Let your favorite retailers know that you support their efforts to maintain a slavery free supply chain. Encourage your company or your employer to take steps to investigate and eliminate human trafficking throughout its supply chain and to publish the information for consumer awareness.

4.                               Hire trafficking survivors.

5.                               Volunteer your professional services to help an anti-trafficking organization that need help from lawyers, doctors, dentists, counselors, translators and interpreters, graphic designers, public relations and media professionals, event planners, and accountants.

6.                               Donate funds or needed items to an anti-trafficking organization.

7.                               Organize a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to an anti-trafficking organization.

8.                               Join or start a grassroots human trafficking coalition.

9.                               Encourage your local schools to include modern slavery in their curriculum. As a parent, educator, or school personnel, be aware of how traffickers target school-aged children.

10.                            Meet with and write to your local, state and federal government representatives to let them know that you care about combating human trafficking in your community.

11.                            Create and distribute public awareness materials such as t-shirts, posters, and public service announcements for radio. Or distribute already existing materials available from the Department of Health and Human Services or Department of Homeland Security.

12.                            Host an awareness event to watch and discuss a recent human trafficking documentary. On a larger scale, host a human trafficking film festival. Several noteworthy films and documentaries have been produced in the last several years that bring attention to the plight of victims worldwide.

13.                            Write a letter to the editor for your local paper about human trafficking in your community.

14.                            Incorporate human trafficking information into your professional associations’ conferences, trainings, manuals, and other materials as relevant.

15.                            STUDENTS: Join or establish a university club to raise awareness about human trafficking throughout the local community and identify victims. Request that human trafficking be an issue included in such university courses as health, migration, human rights, social work, and crime. Increase scholarship about human trafficking by publishing an article, teaching a class, or hosting a symposium.

16.                            COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: ensure that your staff is able to identify and assist trafficked persons.

17.                            LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS: join or start a local human trafficking task force.

18.                            MENTAL HEALTH OR MEDICAL PROVIDERS: extend low-cost or free services to human trafficking victims assisted by nearby anti-trafficking organizations.

19.                            IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS: learn about and offer to human trafficking victims the immigration benefits for which they are eligible.

20.                            EMPLOYMENT LAW ATTORNEYS: look for signs of human trafficking among your clients.