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LI Woman Arrested for Sending Thousands in Bitcoins to ISIS

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Bitcoins, the fast paced new crypto currency and world payment system has become a vehicle for donations to ISIS. As reported by the NY Post, a Long Island woman was arrested for sending tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of Bitcoins to ISIS fighters abroad. Zoobi Shahnaz of Brentwood, 27, allegedly swindled money from banks using fake information, and used the funds to make the donations. On Wednesday, she was stopped and apprehended at JFK airport, while trying to flee from the US to join the terror group in Syria. She is charged with bank fraud and four counts of money laundering, said Acting US Attorney, Bridget Rohde. “As alleged, the defendant Zoobia Shahnaz engaged in a bank fraud scheme, purchased Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and laundered money overseas, intending to put thousands of dollars into the coffers of terrorists,” Rohde said.

Shahnaz was a former lab tech at a Manhattan hospital. Last year, she traveled to Jordan to volunteer with the Syrian American Medical Society. There, she assisted in giving medical aid to Syrian refugees in refugee camps where ISIS “exercises significant influence,” said court documents. Upon her return, she allegedly tricked banks into giving her a $22,500 loan and more than a dozen credit cards. She used these ill-gotten funds to purchase roughly $62,000 in cryptocurrencies online, according to the district attorney’s office. She then wired the digital currency to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, Turkey and China, which were ultimately intended for the terrorist organization.

As per the Post, investigators found on her website history that she had frequented the web pages of known ISIS recruiters, financiers and fighters. Her history included google searches for “medical students ISIS”, and she visited articles about women fighting for ISIS, including one named “Islamic State: Who are the Top Female Jihadis”. If charged, Shahnaz faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for the bank fraud, and 20 years on each count of money laundering.

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

 

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