logo

Crypto Trail Lands Virginia Man 30-Year Sentence for Funding ISIS

By: bitcoin ethereum news|2025/05/09 22:45:05
0
Share
copy
In brief Virginia man Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa was sentenced to 30 years in jail for funding ISIS with crypto, the DOJ said. He sent over $185,000 in crypto to female ISIS members in Syria to aid prison breaks, according to the agency. Prosecutors said he used social media and encrypted apps to collect and launder funds. A Virginia man who funneled crypto to a militant group via encrypted chats and hand-collected donations was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison for supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa was convicted last December on five felony counts, including conspiracy and multiple attempts to provide material support to ISIS. Between 2019 and 2022, Chhipa raised more than $185,000 through social media platforms, encrypted communications, and in-person collections, then converted the funds to crypto and routed them to Syria via Turkey, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) statement. Much of the funds were directed to female ISIS members in detention camps, with the goal of financing prison escapes and supporting fighters embedded across Syria, the agency said. “This defendant directly financed ISIS in its efforts to commit vile terrorist atrocities against innocent citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This sentence sends a clear message: if you fund terrorism, we will find you.” Chhipa’s primary co-conspirator was a British-born ISIS member residing in Syria, who coordinated financial transfers intended for tactical support and militant recruitment. The pair leveraged crypto as a cross-border tool for obfuscating transactions that might otherwise trigger banking flags, according to the Justice Department’s December trial statement. The FBI Washington Field Office led the Chhipa investigation, with support from the DOJ’s National Security Division. His primary co-conspirator remains at large in Syria. “Whether you are a fighter or send money, these activities are illegal and against the national security interests of the United States,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. Chhipa’s case follows a broader DOJ campaign that began gaining steam in 2020, when U.S. authorities announced the single-largest seizure of terrorism-linked crypto to date. The effort targeted digital wallets used by ISIS, Hamas’s military wing, and al-Qaeda operatives, many of whom promoted Bitcoin donations on social media as “untraceable” and intended for “violent causes.” More than 300 crypto accounts, four websites, and four Facebook pages were dismantled in that operation. “Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world,” then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at the time. In March, the Justice Department seized more than $200,000 in crypto linked to Hamas, describing the network as one that had laundered over $1.5 million since late 2024 through a series of wallets and encrypted channels. Daily Debrief Newsletter Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more. Source: https://decrypt.co/318760/crypto-trail-lands-virginia-man-30-year-sentence-for-funding-isis

You may also like

Morning News | Aave announces the establishment of a recovery fund; Michael Saylor releases Bitcoin Tracker information; Vietnam plans to launch a pilot project for crypto assets

Overview of Important Market Events on April 26

Crypto ETF Weekly | Last week, the net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S. was $823 million; the net inflow for Ethereum spot ETFs in the U.S. was $155 million

GSR enters the cryptocurrency ETF market, launching its first multi-asset cryptocurrency ETF.

How to balance risk and return in DeFi yields?

Have these yields ever been reasonable? Have we ever received the compensation we deserve for the risks taken in DeFi, and where should the future spreads be set?

Tom Lee's Ethereum Thesis: Why the Man Who Called the Last Cycle Is Doubling Down on Bitmine

Tom Lee is emerging as one of Ethereum’s most influential supporters. From Fundstrat to Bitmine, his Ethereum thesis combines staking yield, treasury accumulation, and long-term network value. Here is why “Tom Lee Ethereum” has become one of crypto’s most watched narratives.

Naval personally takes the stage: The historic collision between ordinary people and venture capital

Naval personally stepped in as the chairman of the USVC Investment Committee. This SEC-registered fund launched by AngelList attempts to bring top private tech assets like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI to the general public with a $500 entry threshold. It is not just a new fund, but a structural experi...

a16z Crypto: 9 Charts to Understand the Evolution Trends of Stablecoins

Stablecoins are evolving from trading tools into universal payment infrastructure, and this process is quieter and more thorough than most people expected.

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more