Lebanese woman pleads guilty in U.S. security case
(Updates with comment from US official, paragraphs 4-5)
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A Lebanese woman who worked for the CIA and FBI pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using government computers to gain information about the Hezbollah militant group and fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship, the Justice Department said.
Nada Prouty, 37, pleaded guilty in Michigan to charges of conspiracy, unauthorized computer access and naturalization fraud. The charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison, fines and loss of citizenship.
"This defendant engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence. It is fitting that she now stands to lose both her citizenship and her liberty," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said.
There was no allegation that Prouty had ties with Hezbollah and authorities do not regard this as a counterterrorism case, said an official familiar with the plea.
"In terms of espionage, we're not looking at that at this point," the official said.
Court documents in the case charge that Prouty arrived in the United States in 1989 and entered a sham marriage the following year in order to remain in the country. She became a U.S. citizen in 1994.
Prouty got a job in 1999 as a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent with a security clearance, and worked in Washington investigating crimes against Americans overseas.
She used an FBI computer to gain information about an FBI probe of Hezbollah, the court documents said, although her work responsibilities did not involve the group, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization.
Prouty got a job with the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003, and resigned last week. The Justice Department said the investigation is continuing and Prouty has agreed to cooperate with the CIA.
(Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen; editing by Eric Walsh)
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - A Lebanese woman who worked for the CIA and FBI pleaded guilty on Tuesday to using government computers to gain information about the Hezbollah militant group and fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship, the Justice Department said.
Nada Prouty, 37, pleaded guilty in Michigan to charges of conspiracy, unauthorized computer access and naturalization fraud. The charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison, fines and loss of citizenship.
"This defendant engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence. It is fitting that she now stands to lose both her citizenship and her liberty," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said.
There was no allegation that Prouty had ties with Hezbollah and authorities do not regard this as a counterterrorism case, said an official familiar with the plea.
"In terms of espionage, we're not looking at that at this point," the official said.
Court documents in the case charge that Prouty arrived in the United States in 1989 and entered a sham marriage the following year in order to remain in the country. She became a U.S. citizen in 1994.
Prouty got a job in 1999 as a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent with a security clearance, and worked in Washington investigating crimes against Americans overseas.
She used an FBI computer to gain information about an FBI probe of Hezbollah, the court documents said, although her work responsibilities did not involve the group, which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization.
Prouty got a job with the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003, and resigned last week. The Justice Department said the investigation is continuing and Prouty has agreed to cooperate with the CIA.
(Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen; editing by Eric Walsh)
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