USA v. Wehelie, Abdirizak Haji Raghe
Burke, VA

A Virginia man who previously served as a linguist for the FBI was charged with making multiple false statements to FBI officials and obstructing a federal investigation. According to court documents, Abdirizak Jaji Raghe Wehelie, aka Haji Raghe of St. Burk, was a federal contractor for the FBI and worked as a linguist translating communications captured by court-authorized surveillance of a suspect (Person A) in a terrorism investigation. Wehelie allegedly intentionally misidentified his own voice that was captured when Person A left a voicemail message on Wehelie's mobile telephone. When questioned by FBI investigators about this particular incident, Wehelie made several misleading and/or false statements. Wehelie pleaded guilty to a single count of making false statements; seven other counts, including obstructing an investigation, were dropped.