A federal grand jury has indicted a former medical doctor on charges of naturalization fraud. The indictment alleges that Yousif Abdulraouf Alhallaq, 46, originally from Kuwait and a Jordanian citizen at the time of his U.S. entry in 2006, provided false information on his U.S. citizenship application and during an interview.
The indictment states that Alhallaq entered the United States on an H1B visa and became a permanent resident in 2011. He worked as a medical doctor in Northeast Ohio since around 2012. In December 2014, he allegedly poisoned a pregnant victim to terminate her pregnancy without her knowledge. In March 2021, Alhallaq was charged with attempted murder and felonious assault by the Stark County Court of Common Pleas for these actions. He pleaded guilty later that year and received a four-year prison sentence.
Before his indictment and sentencing in 2021, Alhallaq applied for U.S. citizenship using Form N-400 in late 2017. On this form, he answered “no” to questions about involvement in killing or attempting to kill someone (14C), hurting or trying to hurt someone intentionally (14D), and committing crimes for which he was not arrested (22). During a March 2018 interview with an immigration officer, Alhallaq reaffirmed these answers under oath.
Despite knowing about his previous acts of attempted murder and felonious assault against his unborn child in 2014, Alhallaq signed the naturalization application in 2017 and confirmed its truthfulness during the interview process in 2018. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on May 4, 2018.
Alhallaq faces up to ten years in prison if convicted of naturalization fraud. His sentence will be determined by the court based on factors such as his criminal record, role in the offense, and violation characteristics but will not exceed statutory limits.
The investigation leading to this indictment was conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alongside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Matthew W. Shepherd is prosecuting the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation; Alhallaq remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
