Ex-Boise parole officer was charged with extortion. Prosecutor says he fled the country

BOISE – An Ada County judge issued a warrant for a former Idaho Department of Correction probation and parole officer who allegedly extorted the girlfriend of one of his parolees and now has fled the country.

Fourth District Magistrate Judge Susan Clark issued a nationwide warrant for Saif Sabah Hasan Al Anbagi after the 43-year-old missed a recent court date, according to a recording of Friday’s hearing that the Idaho Statesman reviewed.

The Boise resident was charged with grand theft by extortion after he allegedly asked a woman who was in a relationship with a man Al Anbagi supervised to send him “compromising” photos and videos, according to court documents and a legal intern for the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.

“I was advised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that this defendant got on a plane to Iraq a few days ago,” Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Delaney Peugh said in court last week. “So I do believe this is a failure to appear and that he does not plan on appearing.”

Since Al Anbagi has been charged, at least 10 more possible victims have come forward, Peugh added.

“I do think in anticipation of additional charges he’s fled the jurisdiction – fled the country,” Peugh said.

Jeffrey McKinnie, Al Anbagi’s Boise-based private attorney, told the Statesman on Wednesday that he “sees the issue differently,” adding that he’s been in touch with Al Anbagi’s family since last week’s hearing.

“He wasn’t required to stay in the country. He might just be over there visiting,” McKinnie said by phone. “I think we’re jumping to conclusions to assume he’s not coming back.”

Al Anbagi, who worked in Boise, resigned from the Idaho Department of Correction in late February, according to an agency spokesperson.

Al Anbagi’s attorney said his client wouldn’t flee

Al Anbagi’s $150,000 bond was forfeited after he didn’t appear in court last week, court records reviewed by the Statesman showed.

McKinnie previously asked 4th District Magistrate Judge Abraham Wingrove during a February hearing to set a “reasonable bond,” saying his client had no reason to flee.

Al Anbagi’s lived in Boise with his family and his father also works in the court system, McKinnie said. He added that Al Anbagi had no prior criminal history.

“My client will appear in court,” McKinnie said.

Shawn Kelley, a legal intern for the prosecutor’s office, asked Wingrove at that hearing to set bond at $500,000, arguing that Al Anbagi was a “danger to the community” and that he “used his position of trust and authority to extort the victim.”

“This defendant is likely to be convicted,” Kelley said.