State News

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BAHIJA SAADOUN, 37, of West Haven, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for engineering a marriage fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2010, ICE Homeland Security Investigations initiated an investigation into fraudulent marriages that had been arranged between Moroccan nationals and U.S. citizens in order for the Moroccan nationals to unlawfully immigrate to the U.S. The investigation, which included the use of consensual recordings, an examination of immigration and airline records, and other information, revealed that the U.S. citizens received money and trips to Morocco for participating in the scheme. Based on fraudulent representations made by the U.S. citizens to U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Services, the Moroccan citizens were granted conditional green cards.

The investigation further revealed that Saadoun entered the U.S. more than a decade ago after receiving a student visa to attend a college in Florida. However, Saadoun settled in Connecticut and never went to college. In recent years, Saadoun recruited U.S. citizens to enter into fraudulent marriages with her Moroccan relatives, including her brother, Rachid Saadoun, her sister, Fatima Saadoun, and her brother-in-law Khalid Kassem.

Bahija Saadoun also assisted her cousin, Fouad Elhadiri, to help bring his brother to the U.S. through a fraudulent marriage. As part of the scheme, Saadoun created false documents on fake letterhead to support her family members’ residency applications. After their marriages, Bahija Saadoun’s relatives and Elhadiri’s brother never lived with their spouses in the U.S.

On December 21, 2011, Saadoun pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She has been detained since her arrest on October 6, 2011. Nine individuals, including three U.S. citizens who agreed to enter into fraudulent marriages, were charged as a result of this investigation. All have plead guilty.

This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Fraud Detection and National Security Unit. The Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Trumbull, Bridgeport and Naugatuck Police Departments have assisted the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rahul Kale.

U.S. ATTORNEY REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH ROCKY HILL TO ENSURE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN WITH DIABETES

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced a settlement agreement with the Town of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, to resolve allegations that its Parks & Recreation Department refused to accommodate a child in its Summerscape summer camp program in 2011 because the child had juvenile diabetes and required the use of an insulin pump. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, including diabetes, by state and local governments.

Pursuant to the agreement, the Town of Rocky Hill agreed to implement policies and procedures to ensure that children with disabilities are afforded full and equal opportunities to participate in and benefit from the Town’s summer camp programs. The Town also agreed to publish on its website and post at Town Hall a statement of policy on prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.

The Town also agreed to pay monetary damages to the child’s parents and conduct ADA compliance training for its Parks & Recreation employees, which will emphasize an attitude of inclusion of all children regardless of their abilities or disabilities. In the agreement, the Town denied the government’s allegations.

“Ensuring that children with disabilities, and their families, have equal access to summer camps and other programs offered by our state and local government goes to the heart of the ADA’s promises and protections,” said United States Attorney Fein. “The Town of Rocky Hill worked cooperatively with us to address this matter, and we hope that this agreement serves as a reminder for other Connecticut towns about their responsibilities under the ADA.”

Under Title II of the ADA, state and local governments are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability, and must make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures to afford individuals with disabilities the opportunity to participate and benefit from all of their programs, including summer camps. This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Perkins, in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

The enforcement of the ADA is a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

Waterbury - State Representative Larry B. Butler (D-Waterbury) led passage of a bill that would prohibit the eviction of an individual 62 years of age or older who is mentally disabled or family who has a member that is mentally disabled because the lease has expired. SB 94 affects housing complexes with five or more units, but it does not supersede current good cause eviction rules for evicting a tenant, it merely prohibits mental disability as the sole reason for that eviction.

“This bill extends the protection for mentally disabled tenants to their families as well,” said Rep. Butler, House Chairman of the Housing Committee. “This is another tool in protecting our most vulnerable.”

Currently, Federal Housing Act guidelines prohibit discrimination as a sole reason for eviction. This bill specifies evicting for mental disabilities as falling under that definition of discrimination. The bill having passed the State Senate now awaits the Governor’s signature. Rep. Butler is in his 3rd term serving the 72nd House District in Waterbury.

CONNECTICUT MAN CHARGED WITH ENTICING A MINOR TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY

Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the arrest today of Christopher Watts (38, Windsor, Connecticut). Watts is charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity via the internet. If convicted, Watts faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. According to court documents, Watts responded to a posting in a public chat room that stated “dad has daughter.”

The posting was made by an undercover law enforcement officer investigating a particular free public website. Watts told the undercover officer that it was a “big fantasy” of his to have sex with a 14 year-old. Watts sent an explicit picture of himself to the undercover officer to confirm his interest in engaging in sexual activity with the minor. Watts traveled from Connecticut to Brevard County and was arrested.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

 For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI), the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Windsor (Connecticut) Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Perez and Special Assistant United States Attorney Myrna Amelia Mesa.