Man faces charges in fraud case

The brother of a man suspected of having ties to the al-Qaida terror network appeared briefly in federal court in Salt Lake City on charges of fraud and money laundering.

Bassam Omar, 42, of San Diego, stood before a federal magistrate judge and pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday. He declined to comment to reporters outside of court.

According to an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in October 2005, Omar and Alaa Ramadan are accused of a mortgage fraud scheme involving homes in Sandy and Bountiful.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah alleges the two men operated a phony construction company. Ramadan allegedly had a straw buyer and claimed to have done remodeling work on the homes. However, federal prosecutors contend no work was done and the homes went into foreclosure. The indictment alleges Ramadan and Omar pocketed more than $121,000.

Omar has hired the same lawyer as his brother, Sharif Omar. In federal court Thursday, lawyer Gil Athay said he did not believe there was any conflict representing the two brothers.

Sharif and Bassam Omar are under the microscope of FBI agents investigating a series of deals and money that may have been sent to the country of Jordan. What the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Utah wants to know is if the money ever made its way into the hands of the Omars' brother, Shawqi Omar, who is being investigated for possible ties to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Shawqi Omar is currently in military custody in Iraq on suspicion of terrorism but has yet to be charged with any crime. FBI agents tell told the Deseret Morning News they have no conclusive proof the money went to support terrorism.

Ahmad Abudan, 35, of Chula Vista, Calif., was also expected to appear in federal court on Thursday. He had not been released from U.S. marshal's custody in California, and the case was delayed. Abudan and Sharif Omar are accused of an auto loan fraud scheme yielding $40,000.

"I will move to consolidate the four cases to one judge," assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Lunnen said Thursday, noting more defendants were scheduled to appear in federal court later this month.

Sharif Omar is scheduled to go on trial June 26.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com