Nakoula was born in Egypt to
Coptic Christian parents and speaks
Egyptian Arabic. In a September 2012 interview with
Voice of America's Arabic-language station,
Radio Sawa, he stated he was a graduate of the Faculty of Arts at
Cairo University and a researcher of Islamic thought. At some point, he emigrated to
Southern California where he operated gas stations in
Hawaiian Gardens, California and resided in
Cerritos, in
Los Angeles County, California. Nakoula attended a number of Coptic churches in the area, including St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in
Bellflower, but was not a regular member. According to the
Associated Press, "Nakoula struggled with a series of financial problems". In 1996, a
lien for $194,000 was filed against Nakoula's gas station for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest dating from 1989 to 1992. A $106,000 lien was filed against him in 1997. He filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000, owing several banks a total of $166,500, but later failing to make payments under the bankruptcy plan. A $191,000
tax lien was filed against him in 2006.
The Daily Beast reported that Nakoula was arrested by the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 1997 after being pulled over and found to be in possession of
ephedrine,
hydroiodic acid and $45,000 in cash. Nakoula was charged with intent to manufacture
methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 1997 to one year in
Los Angeles County Jail and three years' probation. According to the
Los Angeles County District Attorney, he violated probation in 2002 and was re-sentenced to another year in county jail. In 2010, Nakoula pleaded
no contest to
federal charges of
bank fraud in California. Nakoula had opened bank accounts using fake names and
stolen Social Security numbers, including one belonging to a 6-year-old child, and deposited checks from those accounts to withdraw at
ATMs. The prosecutor described the scheme as
check kiting: "You try to get the money out of the bank before the bank realizes they are drawn from a fraudulent account. There basically is no money." Nakoula's June 2010 sentencing transcript shows that after being arrested, he testified against an alleged ring leader of the fraud scheme, in exchange for a lighter sentence. He was sentenced to 21 months in
federal prison, followed by five years'
probation (supervised release), and ordered to pay $794,701 in
restitution. He was sent to prison, then to a
halfway house, and was released from custody in June 2011. A few weeks after his release, Nakoula began working on
Innocence of Muslims. Conditions of Nakoula's probation include not using aliases and not using the Internet without prior approval from his probation officer. ==
Innocence of Muslims==