FBI Translator Whose Son is in Prison for Supporting ISIS is Arrested

Abdirizak Wehelie was arrested 'for altering transcripts of calls he made

to terrorism suspect'

By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

A former FBI linguistics expert has been arrested accused of obstructing a federal investigation after a terror suspect allegedly left a voicemail on his cell phone, it has been revealed. 

Federal authorities charged the former translator with making false statements after they say he altered transcripts of calls in which his own voice was caught on intercepts.

Abdirizak Wehelie, aka Haji Raghe, was arrested Saturday night at an airport after returning to the U.S. on an international fight, according to Josh Stueve, a spokesman for the US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The 66-year-old, who lives with his family in St. Burk, Virginia, is a former contract translator for the federal agency.   

His son, Yusuf Wehelie, is already serving 10 years in prison for transporting weapons in a case where he is said to have spoken with an undercover witness about his desire to shoot up a military recruitment center on behalf of the Islamic State group.

FOX5 reported in 2016 Yusuf also told undercover agents he wanted to travel to Libya to join ISIS. 

He and another son, Yahya, were also barred from returning to the U.S. in 2010 on an overseas trip until they successfully overturned their status on the no-fly list.    

Both brothers were said to have been detained in Cairo after returning from Yemen.    

An indictment unsealed Monday states that Wehelie worked as a contractor for the FBI from 2012 to 2015. 

In December 2012, a man targeted by the FBI in an investigation connected to the Al-Shabab terrorist group in Somalia called and left a voicemail message for Wehelie, court documents say. 

The call was intercepted under court-ordered surveillance, and Wehelie was tasked the next day with translating the call, according to authorities. 

But he allegedly marked himself down as 'unidentified male' even though the voicemail message on Wehelie's cellphone identified him as 'Abdirizak Wehelie.' 

Abdirizak Wehelie, left, has been arrested accused of obstructing a terrorism investigation after the suspect

allegedly left a voicemail on his personal phone. He is pictured with wife Shamsa Noor and son Yusuf Wehelie

in 2010 after Yahya Wehelie was detained in Cairo

Abdirizak Wehelie was arrested Saturday. A judge ordered Wehelie to be freed on bail following his initial appearance on Monday in a federal court in Alexandria

The FBI questioned Wehelie about his actions in 2016. At the time, according to the indictment, Wehelie admitted that he should not have identified himself as an 'unidentified male' on that translation. 

He also reportedly told FBI agents that he had never actually had a phone conversation with the person who called him and that he didn't know the person very well. 

But a subsequent FBI investigation is said to have revealed that the two had nearly 180 phone contacts from 2010 to 2017. 

The FBI employed Wehelie as a contractor even though his adult children had been placed on the no-fly list and denied re-entry to the U.S. for several weeks in 2010. 

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Prosecutors did not object to his release on $20,000 unsecured bail.