Anti-Islamic filmmaker exposed The film got little attention when it was initially posted online, though things changed considerably when Egyptian media highlighted it in September Some of the demonstrations targeted U. The anger faded, however, particularly after Nakoula's arrest on September 27, In an interview last month with CNN's Jake Tapper, Nakoula said he was "shocked" by the uproar -- saying he never thought his movie could cause anyone trouble or get anyone killed.
He was also ordered not to use computers, e-mail and other electronic communication without approval from a probation officer, nor to use names other than his "true legal" one for any purpose without approval. In prison, according to the Los Angeles Times, he read the Koran for ammunition for criticism of Islam and spoke of his admiration for a controversial Coptic priest who had been disavowed by the mainstream church.
In the days after Muslims across the world rioted against the film Innocence of Muslims, Nakoula went into hiding. He was interviewed by authorities and questioned about whether his role producing the film and distributing it online had violated the terms of his probation.
Authorities say he claimed the money for the movie came from his wife's family in Egypt. Records obtained by ABC News show Nakoula was convicted of intent to manufacture methamphetamine in the s, and also served time in federal prison on bank fraud charges, where he told authorities he wrote the script. Sentenced to 21 months in prison and five years on probation, Nakoula was moved from the federal correctional complex in Lompoc, California to a halfway house in , according to the website The Smoking Gun.
He was released from federal custody in June and production on the film began just two months later at a soundstage in Southern California. He met late Friday night with federal probation officers about whether his involvement in the film violated the terms of his probation, which barred him from accessing the Internet without prior approval. But his real name -- the one he used when he was sent to prison for bank fraud -- was Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.
His habit of adopting other identities earned him a month sentence in federal prison. During and , court documents reviewed by Danger Room. Then Nakoula would deposit bogus checks into the new accounts and withdraw money before the checks bounced. The scheme worked for more than a year, until he was indicted in June of Yet Nakoula's fakery apparently continued. Actors hired to perform in "Innocence" say they had no idea the movie they were making would be so deliberately offensive to Muslims; in fact, many of the most provocative lines were overdubbed after the fact.
Basseley swears he's not "Sam Bacile," the director and writer of the movie; he just happens to have a similar name, and coincidentally was found at the address tied to the cellphone of "Bacile. This is the man whose work is now at the center of one of the gravest diplomatic disasters in recent memory, whose video is at least partially responsible for attacks that claimed the lives of four U.
It shows how U. In the s, Marine Gen. Charles Krulak famously coined the phrase " The Strategic Corporal " to describe how a year old Leatherneck's actions, broadcast worldwide, could derail U. Nakoula first came to federal agents' attention in January of Ha told the feds this was a case of synthetic identity fraud, and gave postal inspectors a stack of bank statements, surveillance photos tied to 11 suspicious social security numbers to prove it.
Once credit is issued using the combination of real and fictitious identifying information, a new identity is established," explains a June 16 criminal complaint against Nakoula, filed in U. District Court in Los Angeles County.
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