Kennewick Man Sentenced for Obstruction

The case began after the Federal Bureau of Investigation officially started looking allegations that several individuals were involved in a scheme to obtain money and property by staging automobile accidents and filing fraudulent claims with insurance companies.

Now, according to the Attorney for the Federal Court of the Eastern District of Washington, 54-year old Mohammed Naji Al-Jibory, of Kennewick, has been sentenced after having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The presiding judge sentenced Al-Jibory to a 10-month term of imprisonment, which is to be followed with a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.

According to court documents, the FBI investigation soon expanded to an investigation by a federal grand jury empaneled in the Eastern District of Washington. Then, in May 2020, the FBI executed warrants to search several residences across Washington and California for evidence of federal crimes.

It was then in September of 2020 when Al-Jibory falsely accused an FBI agent and another individual he and his cohort, Ali Abed Yaser, suspected of being an FBI informant, of soliciting approximately $20,000 in bribe from a third person to make the case go away.

The FBI says that in doing so, Al-Jibory intentionally engaged in misleading conduct toward the FBI agents, as well as a judge of the United States. According to authorities, Al-Jibory also attempted to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede a federal grand jury proceeding, and a criminal proceeding before a judge and court of the United States.

Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington overseeing the case, said in a statement, “Fraud schemes impact the vitality of our entire community. Obstructing official proceedings by falsely accusing a federal agent of bribery and interfering with federal investigations will not be tolerated.”

There remain several individuals in this case who have yet to be sentenced.