Brothers convicted of smuggling, sending profits to Hezbollah

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two brothers were convicted Friday of helping run a North Carolina-based support cell that funneled cigarette-smuggling profits to the militant group Hezbollah.

Mohamad Hammoud, 28, accused of being the leader of the cell, was convicted of 16 counts that included providing material support to Hezbollah -- the first conviction under a 1996 federal law prohibiting aid to designated terrorist groups.

Both he and his 37-year-old brother, Chawki Hammoud, were found guilty of charges including cigarette smuggling, credit card fraud and money laundering.

Defense lawyers for both men said they planned to appeal the verdicts after the men are sentenced. A date was not immediately set.

Jurors deliberated 21 hours over three days. On Friday afternoon, they told the judge they were deadlocked on one count, a charge that Mohamad Hammoud conspired with others to provide support for Hezbollah.

U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen sent them back to deliberate more, and they returned a verdict two hours later.

If sentenced to the maximum allowed by federal guidelines, Mohamad Hammoud could get 155 years in prison. That sentence could be increased if Mullen rules that Hammoud lied when he took the stand in his own defense.

Chawki Hammoud faces a maximum of 70 years. His attorney, Jim McLoughlin, said his client was a legitimate businessman and wasn't involved in smuggling.

Lawyer sure trial was fair

Mohamad Hammoud's lawyer, Deke Falls, denied his client was a member of Hezbollah. He said his client's sympathy for the group was natural for someone who grew up in a country torn by civil war and the strife resulting from the Israeli occupation.

Falls said he had not been sure the brothers would get a fair trial, but the amount of time the jury spent on its decision indicated they did.

"This soon after Sept. 11th, this jury could've come back in two hours and convicted these guys on everything," he said.

The brothers were accused of running a cigarette-smuggling ring that sent cheap North Carolina cigarettes to Michigan, where they were resold without paying that state's higher taxes.

The government says some of the profits were directed to Hezbollah, which opposed an 18-year Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000.

The 1996 anti-terrorism law under which Mohamad Hammoud was convicted makes it illegal to provide material support to groups and individuals designated terrorists by the State Department.