A former Penn State employee was arrested last month for allegedly funneling money to Iraq.

Ayman Jarwan, 33, was arrested in February in Syracuse, N.Y., where he was living at the time. Jarwan was later indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to transfer funds to Iraq, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Jarwan was identified as the executive director of Help the Needy, a charity organization believed to be a front for sending money to Iraq.

While at Penn State, Jarwan was a health physics specialist for the Environmental Health and Safety Office, university spokesman Bill Mahon said. Many people hold the position, which involves the storing and disposing of nuclear materials, Mahon said.

Jarwan worked at Penn State for a short time because he was hired on a temporary basis, he added. The job had narrowly defined duties, and the university is confident that Jarwan did his job properly, Mahon said.

"He did a nice job according to the people he worked for," Mahon added.

The university became aware that Jarwan was a former employee when someone in his former department recognized his name on the news and notified university officials, Mahon said. The university is not reviewing any records of Jarwan's work but has notified local officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Mahon said.

"We'll trust that the FBI will do the proper investigation," he added.

Thus far, university police have not been notified of any investigation by the FBI, said Clifford Lutz, Penn State Police Services supervisor.

The FBI cannot reveal any information on a possible investigation not listed directly in the indictment, an FBI spokeswoman said.

Environmental Health and Safety Office employees declined to comment about Jarwan.

Jarwan, a Jordanian citizen who was born in Saudi Arabia, held a similar position at the University of Michigan after leaving Penn State, Mahon said.

He faces a possible five-year prison sentence and up to $250,000 in fines, according to an FBI press release.