Court Case

USA v. Saab, Alexei

September 2019 (Updated May 23, 2023)
Morristown, NJ
Hizballah

[SDNY] Alexei Saab of Morristown, New Jersey, was charged in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to his support for Hizballah and separate marriage-fraud offenses. The complaint alleged Saab was trained by Hizballah's external terrorist operations component in bomb-making and conducted intelligence gathering in New York City and Washington, DC, in support of Hizballah's attack-planning efforts. Saab joined Hizballah in 1996. His first Hizballah operation occurred in Lebanon, where he was tasked with observing and reporting on the movements of Israeli and Southern Lebanese Army soldiers in Yaroun, Lebanon. In approximately 1999, Saab attended his first Hizballah training. In 2000, Saab lawfully entered the United States using a Lebanese passport. In 2005, Saab applied for naturalized citizenship and falsely affirmed, under penalty of perjury, that he had never been "a member of or in any way associated with . . . a terrorist organization." In August 2008, Saab became a naturalized U.S. citizen. While living in the United States, Saab remained a Hizabllah operative, continued to receive military training in Lebanon, and conducted numerous operations for the terrorist group. Saab surveilled dozens of locations in New York City – including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and local airports, tunnels, and bridges – and provided detailed information on these locations, including photographs, to the Islamic Jihad Organization ("IJO"), which is responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hizballah outside of Lebanon. Saab was convicted in May 2022 of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, Hizballah, marriage fraud conspiracy, and making false statements. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for receiving military-type training from Hizballah, marriage fraud, and making false statements.

Case Updates

2023-05-23 | New Jersey Man Sentenced To 12 Years in Prison for Receiving Military-Type Training From Hezbollah, Marriage Fraud and Making False Statements

2022-05-11 | New Jersey Man Convicted Of Receiving Military-Type Training From Hizballah, Marriage Fraud, And Making False Statements

Alexei Saab, a/k/a "Ali Hassan Saab," a/k/a "Alex Saab," a/k/a "Rachid," was convicted in May 2022 of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, Hizballah, marriage fraud conspiracy, and making false statements. SAAB joined Hizballah in 1996. SAAB's first Hizballah operations occurred in Lebanon, where he was tasked with observing and reporting on the movements of Israeli and Southern Lebanese Army soldiers in Yaroun, Lebanon. Among other things, SAAB reported on patrol schedules and formations, procedures at security checkpoints, and the vehicles used by soldiers. SAAB also, alongside his brother, planted an improvised explosive device that detonated and hit Israeli soldiers, seriously injuring at least one. In 2000, SAAB entered the United States. While living in the United States, SAAB remained an IJO operative, continued to receive military training in Lebanon, and conducted numerous operations for the IJO. SAAB surveilled dozens of locations in New York City—including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and local airports, tunnels, and bridges—and provided detailed information on these locations, including photographs, to the IJO. Finally, in or about 2012, SAAB entered into a fraudulent marriage in exchange for $20,000. The purpose of the marriage was for SAAB's purported wife to apply for her citizenship. SAAB later falsely affirmed, under penalty of perjury, and in connection with his purported wife's efforts to obtain status in the United States, that the marriage was not for any immigration-related purposes.

Case Documents