The U.S. Department of Justice wants to revoke the citizenship of two Connecticut men who committed crimes that did not appear on their naturalization applications.
Federal authorities said one of the men, Tahir Lekaj, 43, a Yugoslavia native, is serving a 15-year prison sentence in Connecticut for a 2022 sexual assault conviction. He has stayed his federal case after filing a habeas complaint with the state seeking to overturn the conviction, claiming ineffective counsel and violations of law committed by state prosecutors.
Federal authorities accuse the other man, Talman Anthony Harris, 49, originally from Jamaica, of failing to provide information on his naturalization application about his fraud conviction in Ohio.
Prosecutors are pursuing both cases in U.S. District Court in Hartford.
The two federal cases form part of 17 filed in courts across several states on the grounds that those who sought naturalization lied during the immigration process about their participation in crimes — some of which had not been prosecuted or reported yet, federal documents show.
The actions were filed in early June under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, “if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation,” according to the DOJ.
“When criminal aliens exploit the naturalization process by breaking the law, there are consequences. Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters. Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We continue to work around the clock with our interagency partners to make sure U.S. citizenship is granted to those who truly deserve it.”
Lekaj entered the United States in August 1999 and subsequently obtained permanent residence, a DOJ news release said. “When he applied to naturalize in 2004, Mr. Lekaj wrote in his application that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested,” the release said. “He later repeated that claim orally and under oath during his naturalization interview. His application was approved, and he naturalized in May 2005. However, in 2022, the State of Connecticut convicted Mr. Lekaj of two counts of sexually abusing a child under the age of 15 in January 2003.”
Federal authorities said evidence at trial indicated that the victim was 10 years old when the abuse began in 2003. “The United States filed a complaint seeking to revoke Mr. Lekaj’s citizenship because he illegally procured his citizenship because he was unable to demonstrate the good moral character required of naturalization because of the sexual abuse,” the DOJ release said. “Additionally, Mr. Lekaj is subject to denaturalization because he willfully misrepresented or concealed the sexual abuse while seeking United States citizenship.”
Lekaj contends in his habeas complaint asking the state courts to overturn his conviction that the allegations of sexual abuse came to light in 2018 when his ex-wife went to Torrington police to discuss an unrelated domestic incident, the habeas document said. At that time, she made allegations involving four different juveniles to help her divorce case, Lekaj said in the habeas document. New Milford and Connecticut State Police investigated the incidents she described, and both agencies issued arrest warrants, court records showed.
The arrest by state police involved incidents with a juvenile that allegedly occurred from 2003 to 2005, which was during the period when Lekaj applied for naturalization, federal and state court papers said. The habeas document said the other incidents were believed to have taken place from 2009 to 2013, years after he had received his citizenship.
He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence on the sexual assault charges to be followed by 25 years probation, court records show. The state Appellate Court denied his appeal and the state Supreme Court declined to take up his case, according to the habeas document. His habeas trial is slated to start July 23. A judge has stayed the federal case seeking the revocation of his citizenship until the habeas case is complete.
The DOJ contends in the news release announcing the court proceedings against 17 people that Harris manipulated the price and volume of shares of stock in publicly traded companies, causing more than $54 million to be invested in artificially controlled shares and an ultimate loss to investors of approximately $39 million from the scheme.
The DOJ alleges that he participated in the scheme for eight years, including during 2012-14 when he was involved in naturalization proceedings.
“In 2016, after Harris naturalized, a jury found him guilty of wire fraud and conspiring to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, with his fraudulent wire transfers and the conspiracy occurring during the period in which Harris was statutorily required to demonstrate good moral character to naturalize,” the release said.
“The denaturalization complaint against Harris alleges that, during the period in which he was statutorily required to demonstrate good moral character, he committed a crime involving moral turpitude, committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on his moral character, and falsely testified about his crime,” according to the release. “The complaint additionally alleges that Harris willfully misrepresented the material fact of his crimes during his naturalization proceedings.”
His immigration revocation case is proceeding, court records show.