New Jersey Man Indicted for Lying About ISIS Ties on U.S. Citizenship Application

NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey returned a two-count indictment against a New Jersey man for falsely stating on an application for naturalization that he had never been associated with a terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced.

Gafur Abdudzhamilovich Aliev, 44, of Edison, New Jersey, is charged with one count of making a false statement on an application for naturalization and one count of perjury.

According to the indictment, between January 2018 and January 2020, Aliev was a moderator and member of numerous channels on a social media application with encryption features that targeted members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). 

On or about Aug. 7, 2020, Aliev told Individual-1 that he previously sent money to ISIS for the purchase of weapons, and on or about Aug. 16, 2020, Aliev also told Individual-1 that sending even a small amount of money ($100 to $400) to ISIS was “ok.” On or about Sept. 28, 2020, Aliev further told Individual-1 that those who commit jihad in the name of Allah should commit jihad financially and physically and that, without financial support, jihad could not be performed because money was needed to purchase equipment to conduct jihad.

On or about Dec. 26, 2020, Aliev, under penalty of perjury, falsely stated in his application for naturalization that he had never been a member of, or in any way associated with, a terrorist organization.

The false statement on a naturalization application count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The perjury count carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, deportation officers in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations under the direction of Field Office Director John Tsoukaris, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, and the Edison Police Department under the direction of Chief Thomas Bryan with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for its assistance with the case.

Joyce M. Malliet, chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit, represented the government in the case, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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