Woman gets probation, fine in fraud scheme

A woman charged in a fraud and money-laundering scheme has been sentenced to three years probation.

Rebecca Teece was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for her role, which involved the purchase of a car and a home. She was ordered to pay more than $22,000 in restitution, along with co-defendant Alaa "Alex" Ramadan.

Teece is one of four people who was charged in a fraud scheme last year that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's linked to a larger scheme involving the brother of a man with suspected al-Qaida ties.

The FBI has been investigating whether Sharif Omar — who has also been charged in a related case — funneled money from Utah to a bank in the nation of Jordan and if it found its way into terrorist hands. He is scheduled to go on trial in April.

Omar is the brother of Shawqi Omar, who has been the subject of investigations into possible ties to al-Qaida in Iraq. FBI agents have told the Deseret Morning News they have no conclusive proof that the money went to support terrorism.