Iraqis Accused Of Sending Home $7M

Two Iraqis have been arrested for allegedly operating an unlicensed money transferring business that sent more than $7 million to Iraq.

Maitham Abdulla Jaber Al Samar, 39, and his brother, Qassim Abdulla Jaber Al Samar, 38, both of Denver, made initial appearances in federal court Friday, one day after they were arrested.

Maitham Al Samar, who does business as Alrafden Transactions, is accused of sending more than $7 million to Iraq during the past 2½ years, U.S. Attorney John Suthers said.

Qassim Al Samar does business as a tobacco sales company called Wholly Smokes, authorities said.

Alrafden Transactions is listed as a business with state officials, and the existence of Wholly Smokes could not be verified, they said.

A man arrested Wednesday in Indiana on similar accusations told federal authorities he provided money to Maitham Al Samar to be sent to Iraq, officials said.

According to an affidavit for the Denver arrests, Maitham Al Samar used bank accounts in Denver to wire money to accounts in Jordan and Kuwait, and the money was then sent to Iraq.

The affidavit did not specify where the money came from nor how it was spent.

Federal officials also are searching for Iraqis who are living illegally in the United States. An undisclosed number of other Iraqis in the country have been asked to report to the FBI for interviews, said Nina Pruneda, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If convicted, each Al Samar brother could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.