Hosam Amara Charged with Harboring Undocumented Aliens for Profit, …

Hosam Amara, a former manager at Agriprocessors, is set to appear in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after being extradited from Israel. Amara, 48, was first indicted on November 20, 2008, and faces charges of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, harboring and aiding abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit document fraud, and aiding and abetting document fraud.

According to Israeli authorities, Amara was arrested in Israel on March 31, 2011. A superseding indictment filed on July 16, 2009, charged Amara with one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, twenty-four counts of harboring and aiding abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens for profit, one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud, and one count of aiding and abetting document fraud.

If convicted, Amara faces up to ten years’ imprisonment on each of the conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit charge and the harboring undocumented aliens for profit charges, up to five years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy to commit document fraud charge, and up to ten years’ imprisonment on the document fraud charge. In addition, if convicted, Amara faces fines, special assessments, and supervised release following any imprisonment.

Amara’s first appearance in federal court in Cedar Rapids for an initial appearance and arraignment is set for today at 1:30 p.m. As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Deegan, C.J. Williams, and Matthew Cole. The investigation has been led by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prior assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service; United States Postal Inspections Service; Iowa Department of Public Safety; Iowa Department of Transportation; Federal Protective Service; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations; United States Department of Labor; Public Health Service; United States Department of Agriculture; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Drug Enforcement Administration; Waterloo Police Department; and Postville Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 08-1324 LRR. The public can access the case files and track the progress of the case through this website.

The extradition of Hosam Amara from Israel marks a significant development in the case, which has been ongoing for over a decade. The prosecution of Amara is a testament to the commitment of law enforcement agencies to pursue justice and hold individuals accountable for their crimes, no matter how long it takes.