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Three tied to terror shooter deny sham-marriage plot

29 April 2016 05:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Latest on warrants served in a marriage fraud investigation stemming from the December terror attack that killed 14 in San Bernardino, APA reports APP

Three people with close family ties to the couple responsible for the San Bernardino terror attack have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.

Syed Raheel Farook, his wife, Tatiana, and Mariya Chernykh all entered pleas on Thursday afternoon in a federal court in Riverside.

Farook is the brother of Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two shooters behind the Dec. 2 attack that killed 14 people.

The three are charged with conspiring to maintain a sham marriage between one of the women and Enrique Marquez Jr., a friend of Farook's who has been charged separately.

The marriage charges are unrelated to the attack.

The judge also set bond at $50,000 for Chernykh and required that she be subject to electronic monitoring.

Prosecutors said Chernykh was the most culpable for the sham marriage.