SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Syrian-American man living in San Diego has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for lying to U.S. officials about knowing a member of the Islamic State group and for participating in combat against the Syrian regime.

Mohamad Saeed appeared in federal court Monday in San Diego where he was given the maximum sentence for making false statements involving international terrorism.

Prosecutors say Saeed made the false statement in March 2015 when he was stopped on his way back from Syria. He was arrested in April at his home in a San Diego suburb.

In his plea agreement, Saeed admitted to knowing a member of the Islamic State group in Iraq and fighting alongside an al-Qaida-linked organization in Syria.

Saeed and his lawyer could not be reached for comment.