Lackawanna man pleads guilty to his role in kidnapping conspiracy attempting to force sister to marry in Yemen

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Waleed Abughanem, 32, of Lackawanna, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to misprision of felony, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles M. Kruly and Maeve E. Huggins, who are handling the case, stated that Abughanem is the son of Khaled Abughanem and the brother of Adham Abughanem. Waleed Abughanem has several other siblings, including an adult sister (Victim). On September 1, 2021, the Victim traveled from Lackawanna to Guadalajara, Mexico, to temporarily stay with her fiancé, whom she had known for several years. The Victim did so out of fear that family members would require her to enter into a non-consensual arranged marriage. Khaled and Adham Abughanem, and the Victim’s  mother traveled to Guadalajara, and told the Victim that she would be allowed to marry her fiancé if she returned to the United States, which the Victim agreed to do. Waleed Abughanem knew that Khaled and Adham Abughanem did not intend to allow the Victim to marry her fiancé after she returned to the United States.

After the Victim returned to the United States, Khaled, Adham, and Waleed Abughanem restricted her freedom of movement and forced her to stay in the Abughanem family’s Lackawanna residence for several weeks in September and October 2021. In October 2021, Khaled and Adham tricked the Victim into thinking that she would be permitted to marry her fiancé if she traveled with Khaled and Adham Abughanem, and other family members to Egypt, and later to Yemen. Waleed Abughanem drove the Victim and other family members to an airport in Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose of traveling to Egypt. Khaled and Adham Abughanem intended to find a man for the Victim to enter into a non-consensual arranged marriage, which Waleed Abughanem was aware of.

The Victim was held involuntarily in Cairo, Egypt and then in Sana’a, Yemen, from October 2021 until April 6, 2023. During this time, she did not have free access to her United States passport, and, as an unmarried woman, the Victim was not permitted to freely travel or leave Yemen without the approval of family members. Waleed Abughanem knew the Victim was being held involuntarily, and during some of this period, he was present in Yemen. When he was not present in Yemen, Waleed Abughanem instructed his wife to monitor and supervise the Victim. In December 2022, Waleed Abughanem traveled from Yemen to the United States. When questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as to the whereabouts of his siblings, Waleed Abughanem told the CBP Officer that the Victim was in the United States. By making a false statement, Waleed Abughanem concealed that the Victim had been kidnapped and was being involuntarily held in Yemen.

Charges remain pending against Khaled and Adham Abughanem. They are scheduled to go to trial in October, 2024.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, under the direction of Diplomatic Security Director Carlos Matus and Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Houston. Additional assistance was provided by the Lackawanna Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Packard, Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy, and CPB in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 24, 2025, before Judge Sinatra.

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