Brother of San Bernadino terrorist guilty of arranging sham marriage for his Russian sister-in-law to American accomplice who bought guns for the deadly shooting

  • Syed Raheel Farook was convicted of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud
  • He arranged sham marriage between Mariyah Chernykh and Enrique Marquez Jr.
  • The 31-year-old is married to Mariyah's sister Tatiana who entered US in 2006
  • His younger brother, Syed Rizwan Farook, committed terrorist attack in 2015 
  • Along with his wife, he opened fire on an office party at Inland Regional Center
  • The pair killed 14 people and injured 22 others in attack which ISIS later claimed 
  • The terrorist couple were killed in a shootout with police as they tried to flee
  • Marquez Jr., the couple's neighbor, is accused of supplying them with guns
  • Syed Raheel will be sentenced in November and the Chernykh sisters are awaiting trial for immigration fraud - none were involved in the terrorist attack

Syed Raheel Farook, the older brother of the San Bernadino terrorist, was convicted of immigration fraud this week 

Syed Raheel Farook, the older brother of the San Bernadino terrorist, was convicted of immigration fraud this week 

The brother of the San Bernadino terrorist has been found guilty of arranging a sham marriage for his Russian sister-in-law to the American accomplice who helped orchestrate the 2015 shooting.

Syed Raheel Farook was convicted of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud in Riverside, California, this week for setting up the 2014 marriage between Mariyah Chernykh and Enrique Marquez Jr.

Marquez Jr. helped Farook's younger brother Syed Rizwan Farook orchestrate an attack on a staff Christmas party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernadino on December 15 the following year. 

Fourteen people were killed and 22 injured when the terrorist and his wife, Pakistani immigrant Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on them. The pair were later killed in a shootout with police as they tried to flee arrest in an SUV.  

Syed Raheel is married to Tatiana Chernykh, Mariyah's sister.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud this week and will be sentenced on November 13. 

He faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  

Tatiana and Syed Raheel married in August, 2011. Her sister Mariyah entered the country two years earlier and began a relationship with her live-in boyfriend Oscar Romero with whom she now has a child. 

Syed Raheel arranged a sham marriage for his wife Tatiana's sister Mariyah. The Russian sisters are pictured above with their parents. Tatiana is seen (right) and Mariyah is pictured (left) 

Syed Raheel arranged a sham marriage for his wife Tatiana's sister Mariyah. The Russian sisters are pictured above with their parents. Tatiana is seen (right) and Mariyah is pictured (left) 

Syed Raheel organized the marriage between Enrique Marquez Jr. (left) and Mariyah in November 2014. The Russian native was in fact in a relationship with Oscar Romero (right). The pair have a daughter together
Syed Raheel organized the marriage between Enrique Marquez Jr. (left) and Mariyah in November 2014. The Russian native was in fact in a relationship with Oscar Romero (right). The pair have a daughter together

Syed Raheel organized the marriage between Enrique Marquez Jr. (left) and Mariyah in November 2014. The Russian native was in fact in a relationship with Oscar Romero (right). The pair have a daughter together 

Syed Raheel's younger brother, Syed Rizwan, and his wife Tashfeen Malik (above together) killed 14 people at a Christmas party in San Bernardino, California, in 2015

Marquez Jr. is accused of buying the guns used by Syed Raheel's younger brother Syed Rizwan and his wife Tashfeen Malik (above together) to kill 14 people at a Christmas party in San Bernadino, California, on December 2, 2015 

When her visa expired, her fake marriage to Marquez Jr, who lived on the same street as the shooters, was set up.

Marquez Jr. admitted the sham relationship while being questioned by FBI agents after the 2015 shooting, telling them how his fake bride paid him $200 a month to keep up the charade. 

He is accused of buying the rifles used by Syed Rizwan and Tashfeen Malik in the attack and is awaiting trial.   

The Chernykh sisters are scheduled for trial on March 28. They were arrested alongside Syed Raheel in April last year. 

U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said her office continues to seek justice for the victims of the San Bernardino killings.

'As I have said many times, we are committed to leaving no stone unturned in this investigation,' she said in a statement.  

Syed Rizwan (above) and his wife were killed in a police shootout in their SUV after the attack
Syed Rizwan and his wife (above) were killed in a police shootout in their SUV after the attack

Syed Rizwan and his wife were killed in a police shootout in their SUV after the attack 

Syed Raheel Farook married her (pictured together) in 2011, as he is the brother of Syed Rizwan Farook - one of the two shooters in the December 2015 attack that killed 14 people
Tatiana (above) faces a maximum of five years in prison when she's sentenced November 13

Syed Raheel married Tatiana Chernykh in 2011. She is pictured (right) on their wedding day. Tatiana entered the country in 2006 and was previously married to a man in Virginia

The sisters (above with Mariyah's real partner, Oscar Romero) are awaiting trial for immigration fraud 

The sisters (above with Mariyah's real partner, Oscar Romero) are awaiting trial for immigration fraud 

The Chernykh sisters grew up in a small, Jewish village in Russia. Neither is believed to have converted to Islam or hold fanatical beliefs.

It's not clear how Tatiana came to meet Syed Raheel. A Navy Veteran between 2003 and 2007, he previously once won the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. 

Neighbours told DailyMail.com police were often called to the home he shared with Tatiana to diffuse angry domestic disputes. 

His murderous younger brother worked for the government as an environmental health specialist. 

He met his wife online while she was still living in Saudi Arabia and moved her to the US on a fiancee visa before their marriage. 

The pair had at least one child together, a six-month-old baby daughter who they left with her grandmother while they carried out their killing spree on December 2, 2015.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack afterwards. 

Farook and his wife fled in an SUV but were themselves killed four hours later in a police shootout. 

The attack is the deadliest mass shooting on US soil since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and the worst terrorist attack since 9/11. 

Fourteen people were killed and another 22 were injured in the attack on December 2, 2015

Fourteen people were killed and another 22 were injured in the attack on December 2, 2015

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