Unwitting accomplice arrested in Times Square case pleads guilty in Deportation plea deal
A man arrested in Massachusetts during the investigation into the failed Times Square bombing has pleaded guilty to immigration and illegal money-transfer charges and now faces deportation to his native Pakistan.
Aftab Ali, also known as Aftab Khan, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston to time served under a plea agreement between prosecutors and defense lawyers. He has been placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is expected to deport him within weeks.
He did not face any terrorism-related charges.
The deal was reached because Ali, 28, had been in custody for 11 months since his arrest, and under federal sentencing guidelines would have faced only a six to 12-month sentence if convicted at trial, lawyers said.
Ali unwittingly supplied $4,900 to Faisal Shahzad, of Bridgeport, Conn., who was later convicted in the attempted bombing, federal authorities said.