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August 28, 2003
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Mohammed Lateef, of San Mateo, California, was arrested today on charges that he sent an anthrax threat by mail to the federal immigration service in San Francisco.
Mr. Lateef, 32, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of threatening to use a biological agent as a weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 175(a). The indictment was filed on August 26, 2003, and had been under seal until today.
According to the indictment, Mr. Lateef is alleged to have mailed a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as the Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement), at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. The indictment alleges that the letter, which was mailed on approximately April 10, 2002, and received the following day, contained white powder and stated: "Antrax" [sic]; "Hate Isreal and destroy America" [sic]; and "Al-Qaida" [sic].
The maximum statutory penalty for violating 18 U.S.C. § 175(a) is life imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court. An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Lateef must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
Mr. Lateef made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco today. The defendant was released on a $100,000 bond. The defendant's next scheduled appearance is at 10 a.m. on September 8, 2003, for trial setting before Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.
The prosecution is the result of a one-year investigation by the U.S. Federal Protective Service, in conjunction with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Wang is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Thomas R. Moulder.
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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