Former Agriprocessors Manager Hosam Amara to Appear in Court Following Extradition from Israel

Former Agriprocessors manager Hosam Amara is scheduled to appear today in federal court in Cedar Rapids following his extradition from Israel. According to Israeli authorities, Amara was arrested in Israel on March 31, 2011.

Hosam Amara, age 48, was first indicted on November 20, 2008. A July 16, 2009, superseding indictment charged Amara with one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit, 24 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 10 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 10 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.