ORLANDO, Florida – U.S. District Judge John Antoon, II has sentenced Hamid Mohamed 25-year-old Ahmed Ali Rehaif to 18 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by an unlawful alien. Following his prison term, he will be deported back to the United Arab Emirates. Rehaif was found guilty by a federal jury in May 2016.
According to evidence presented at trial, Rehaif was admitted into the United States in 2013 under a student visa in order to attend the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). After completing three semesters at FIT, he was academically dismissed in December 2014.
As a result, Rehaif became an unlawful alien when he failed to immediately depart the United States.
Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement agents made contact with Rehaif at a hotel in Melbourne where federal officials say he had been living for two months, paying more than $11,000 in cash for room fees.
During that time, Rehaif possessed firearms and ammunition at a local shooting range in Melbourne, Florida. In addition, he provided ammunition to two hotel employees as “gifts.” At the sentencing hearing, the Court found that Rehaif had illegally purchased three other firearms.
Rehaif had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
