Former Lawrence man going to prison for lying about working for U.S. Army in Iraq

An Iraqi man who lied about being a translator for the U.S. Army was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison.

Goran Sabah Ghafour, a 35-year-old former graduate teaching assistant in the journalism school at the University of Kansas, was sentenced in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., where he previously pleaded guilty to visa fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Ghafour lied to obtain a visa through a program for Iraqi citizens who worked for the U.S. government.

He also forged a letter purportedly from an Army general to verify his work as a translator. The officer later told investigators that he didn’t know Ghafour and didn’t write the letter.

This story was originally published January 4, 2017 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Former Lawrence man going to prison for lying about working for U.S. Army in Iraq."