NY Judge Orders Prison for WTC Fraud

May 13, 2002

U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon ordered Jihad Razzaq, a 35-year old illegal immigrant from Palestine, to serve 15 months in federal prison for making a false claim to the New York Life Insurance Co. that his wife had died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Razzaq's claim for $100,000 was supported by Halim Bouderbala, an Algerian immigrant, who received a 13 month sentence.

Further investigation established that Razzaq's wife was alive and well in her native Jordan.