An ex-FBI linguist was arrested for lying to investigators after he denied having contact with a suspect in a terrorism probe, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
According to court documents, Abdirizak Jaji Raghe Wehelie, 66, of Virginia, was a federal contractor for the FBI and worked as a linguist translating communications captured by court-authorized surveillance of the terror probe target, officials said.
But Wehelie allegedly purposely misidentified his own voice that was captured when the target left a voicemail on Wehelie's cell phone, officials said.
When questioned by FBI investigators about the incident, Wehelie made several misleading or false statements, the DOJ charged.
Wehelie was scheduled to make his first appearance Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
He was charged with obstructing a federal investigation and making false statements to government officials and faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.