The brother of San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook and two other people were arrested by federal agents Thursday morning.
According five-count criminal indictment filed in federal court, the charges are of marriage fraud, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.
Syed Raheel Farook, the brother of the gunman, his wife, Tatiana Farook and her sister Mariya Chernkykh were all arrested Thursday morning, the Los Angeles Times reported. The indictment centers around a fraudulent marriage between Chernkykh and Enrqiue Marquez, a friend of Syed Rizwan Farook who has since been charged with aiding him and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, in the Dec. 2 terror attack that left 14 people dead.
All three are expected to appear in federal court later Thursday, according to the U.S. attorney’s Office.
Sgt. Paul Mercado, a spokesman for the Corno Police Department said two people were arrested at Raheel Farook’s home after FBI executed a search warrant Thursday morning. A second search warrant was executed at Chernkykh’s home in Ontario.
Marquez received money to marry Chernkykh, who only took part in the marriage to gain legal status in the U.S., federal investigators determined. Chernkykh lied to FBI agents during the investigation into the Dec. 2 mass shooting, saying she lived with Marquez, but actually lived in Ontario.
U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker on Thursday called the arrests “the latest step in the comprehensive investigation into the horrific attacks” last year.
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik both died in a shootout with police after carrying out the deadly attack.
“Today’s arrests open a new phase in the process of bringing to justice all individuals who allegedly committed crimes that were uncovered during our exhaustive investigation,” Decker added.
