New Jersey Man Sentenced To 12 Years For Receiving Military-Type Training From Hizballah, Marriage Fraud, And Making False Statements

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ALEXEI SAAB, a/k/a “Ali Hassan Saab,” a/k/a “Alex Saab,” a/k/a “Rachid,” was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for receiving military-type training from Hizballah, marriage fraud, and making false statements. A jury convicted SAAB of those offenses in May 2022 after a two-week trial. The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Paul G. Gardephe, who also presided over the trial.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Alexei Saab’s actions as a Hizballah operative, both domestically and internationally, were deeply disturbing. Saab trained extensively on military tactics and weapons use, he specialized in how to construct and detonate explosives, and he surveilled major American landmarks to identify potential attack sites. But his apprehension by law enforcement before an attack could be carried out is a testament to the importance of our counterterrorism efforts. We will continue to protect the American people by thwarting terrorist organizations’ pursuits of murder and mass destruction. Thanks to the hard work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, Saab will now spend the coming 12 years in federal prison.”

Read more: Department of Justice