Anne Arundel restaurateur indicted in arson plot

An Anne Arundel restaurateur plotted to kill his wife, falsely implicate her as a terrorist and burn down his Hanover business, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment. Khalil Ahmad, 51, of Hanover, faces federal and state charges related to the alleged plot, which prosecutors outlined in an indictment in U.S. District Court in Baltimore unsealed Monday. Investigators say they have audio and video recordings of Ahmad speaking about the plots with an informant while the FBI and Anne Arundel police recorded meetings at the restaurant, court documents state. Ahmad “gave Cooperator $5,000 in United States currency over two separate meetings, as a down payment to have (his wife) set up to look like a terrorist,” prosecutors wrote. The June indictment details a scheme to burn down Allah Rakha, a Pakistani restaurant in Hanover. It and other court documents show that Ahmad was facing severe financial pressures from banks, business partners and customers he owed money. According to federal court documents, Ahmad conspired with another man to collect on a newly purchased insurance policy on the Hanover restaurant. Prosecutors wrote that the new policy was worth $200,000 more than his previous one. Federal prosecutors wrote that Ahmad “wanted to set his wife up to make her look like a terrorist” after burning down the restaurant.