Wassef Ali Hassoun (Arabic: واصف علي حسون; born January 1, 1980) was a United States Marine who was charged with desertion for leaving his unit and engaging with others in a hoax to make it appear that he had been captured by terrorists on June 19, 2004, while serving in Iraq. Originally listed as having deserted, the Lebanese-born U.S. Marine was then thought to have been taken hostage by Iraqis who were thought to have befriended him.