Former KU student sentenced for false Army Translator claims

Posted: Updated:
written by Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -

A former University of Kansas graduate student who falsely claimed on his visa application that he served as a translator for the U.S. Army in Iraq has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

The U.S. attorney's office says 35-year-old Goran Sabah Ghafour was sentenced Wednesday for visa fraud and aggravated identify theft.

The Iraqi man lived in Lawrence while he was a student. He admitted through his plea that he applied for a visa under a program allowing Iraqi nationals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq to qualify for a visa. Prosecutors say he fabricated a letter from an Army officer who didn't know him to support the claim.

Ghafour graduated in May with his doctorate.

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