A LEBANESE-AMERICAN couple were arrested and charged with providing material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terror organisation, and other crimes.
The Justice Department said Hor Akl, and his wife Amera Akl, both 37, were arrested in Ohio today without incident and were to appear in federal court later in the day.
The Toledo residents, who are dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, money laundering charges and arson relating to an insurance fraud scheme.
Hor Akl is also charged with two counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count of perjury, US Attorney Steven Dettelbach said.
According to the complaint, the Akls agreed to send money to Hezbollah after they were approached in 2009 by a confidential informant for the FBI who claimed he worked for an anonymous donor eager to support the group which has been on the US terror list since 1997.
The charges of supporting a terrorist organisation carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and money laundering charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years.
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