Iraqi hit by Curveball in $10,000 scam

[sabra]

Source: SMH

BAGHDAD: The plump, smooth-talking stranger hailing himself as a patriot and liberator should have been enough reason for caution. And if that wasn't, a check of his name, Rafid Ahmed Alwan, on the internet definitely would have.

But the alarm bells didn't go off, allowing the man the the world knows as Curveball - whose false claims helped the US come up with a pretext to invade Iraq almost eight years ago - to carry out another scam.

The return to notoriety began in September last year, when a member of Iraq's National Reconciliation Commission, Fa'al Niema Thehieb, took a call from an expatriate in Germany who said he wanted to return home to form a political party to help the re-election campaign of the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

The caller was Curveball, the most infamous of all Iraqi defectors in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion.

...

''He told me it would cost $US10,000 to help with her visa application and residency,'' said Mr Thehieb. He sent the money last December but has not heard from Curveball since. Mr Thehieb registered a complaint with the Iraqi consulate in Frankfurt several months ago and has enlisted friends to help track Curveball down.

''I know it won't be easy,'' said a sheepish Mr Thehieb. ''I've heard he owes the greengrocer a lot of money too.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/iraqi-hit-by-curveball-in-10000-scam-20101202-18ib5.html

[rfranklin]

1. George Bush's most trusted source of intelligence...

How sad is that?