Pakistani-origin Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, who claimed to be a disabled veteran, has been called a conman by US administration.
Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a Pakistani man who claimed to be a ‘disabled veteran’ was detained by the ICE in August on allegations of his several past crimes. But his wife Melissa Chaudhry, a Democrat candidate for Congress, said there were political reasons behind the detention. The US administration, meanwhile, identified Chaudhry as a ‘Pakistani conman’. Melissa said they were targeted because of their outspoken activism for the human rights of the Palestinian people. “They can blow a lot of smoke,” she said in an interview. “It does not mean there’s a fire. They are trying to smear him and turn him into someone that he is not and prosecute him in the eyes of the public.”
Who is Muhammad Chaudhry? What did the US administration say?
The US administration called the veteran an illegal immigrant and a conman. “Chaudhry first entered the US in 1998 on a B-2 visitor visa—after he lied to the US government about his criminal history in Australia. His criminal history in Australia includes five counts of financial deception, possession of stolen goods, and falsifying passports. Additionally, he lied about his criminal history in Australia to obtain a green card in the US and subsequently was denied citizenship twice, dating back to 2008, and then he applied for citizenship eight more times while continuing to lie and provide false information to immigration authorities,” the USCIS and the DHS said.
Did Chaudhry serve in the US Army?
The US administration said their records do not show he was deployed to Iraq, the claim that he made to take his vet benefits. But to serve in the Army, he must have needed some form of legal status. It’s not clear how he could have served in the Army if he was never a legal citizen.
What is the truth of Chaudhry?
According to reports, Chaudhry lied on a US visa application and misrepresented his citizenship in an application to become a reserve officer at the Yakima Police Department. Though misrepresented documents, he also served in the National Guard and was now expecting to be granted naturalization as a “disabled, decorated, honorably discharged American veteran”. Going by Melissa’s claims, Chaudhry served in the US Army until the early 2000s. He sustained an injury that left him wheelchair-bound and was discharged from his duty for medical reasons.In Australia, Chaudhry was a taxi driver and he took the passport of one passenger as the passenger did not have money. Chaudhry used the passport to open a bank account and get medical benefits. He was criminally convicted in Australia but suppressed the fact from the US administration when he came to US.
