Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Woman with links to Hezbollah infiltrates CIA, FBI, prosecutors say
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A Lebanese immigrant, the sister-in-law of fugitive LaShish Restaurants owner Talal Chahine, used fraudulent U.S. citizenship obtained through a bogus marriage to land jobs with the Central Intelligence Agency and the FBI, federal prosecutors in Detroit said today.
While working as an FBI special agent, Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, of Vienna, Va., gained unauthorized access to a Detroit FBI computer case file about an investigation into the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to court files unsealed today.
Prouty pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiracy to defraud the United States, unauthorized computer access, and
naturalization fraud.
Though officials stressed Prouty is not charged with espionage or spying for Hezbollah, the case raises serious questions about security screening by the CIA and the FBI.
According to an information unsealed today, Lebanese-born Prouty
gained U.S. citizenship in 1994 through a fraudulent marriage, joined the FBI's Washington Field Office as special agent in 1999 and joined the CIA in June, 2003.
"This case highlights the importance of conducting stringent and thorough background investigations," U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy said in a news release.
"It's hard to imagine a greater threat than a situation where a foreign national uses fraud to attain citizenship and then, based on that fraud, insinuates herself into a sensitive position in the U.S. government."
Prouty resigned her CIA post, described as "mid-level," last week, officials said...
FBI and CIA Still Don't Have It Together
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Originally Posted by Kathianne
