Virginia Man Gets 30-Year Sentence for Funding ISIS with Crypto

A Virginia man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in federal prison for running a multi-year operation that funneled over $185,000 to ISIS using a mix of wire transfers, social media platforms, and cryptocurrency. Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, was handed a 364-month sentence following his conviction in December 2024 on multiple federal charges, including conspiracy and multiple counts of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization . Chhipa’s sentencing is one of the longest ever handed down in a U.S. terrorism financing case involving cryptocurrency. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Chhipa solicited donations for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) through online appeals across several social media accounts, often presenting himself as a charity collector. Prosecutors said he sometimes went as far as walking long distances across U.S. states to collect cash directly from donors. Between October 2019 and October 2022, Chhipa raised and laundered funds which he converted into cryptocurrency before transferring them to intermediaries in Turkey. Evidence presented at trial showed that the funds ultimately reached ISIS affiliates in Syria, where they were used to support attack logistics, facilitate prison breaks, and provide aid to fighters. “Those who fund and facilitate terror bear the same responsibility as those who carry out attacks,” U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert of the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement following the sentencing. The FBI’s Washington Field Office led the investigation, working alongside international partners to track the money trail from social media posts to digital wallets. The case comes amid increased scrutiny of how extremist groups exploit financial technology to raise and move funds. Lawmakers in Washington, including Senator Elizabeth Warren , called for tighter rules around digital assets, pointing to their use in criminal financing schemes. Bipartisan concerns prompted proposals for stricter oversight of crypto transactions, especially those involving foreign actors or anonymous platforms. Still, blockchain analytics firms note that criminal use of cryptocurrencies remains relatively limited. Chainalysis , a research firm specializing in blockchain forensics, estimates that illicit activity accounted for less than 1% of total crypto transaction volume in recent years. Meanwhile, a federal judge has not yet issued a decision on Binance’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by families of victims of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The case was filed last year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and accuses Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of providing financial services that allegedly aided Hamas.