Springfield Man Charged With Sending Money To Female ISIS Members
A Springfield man was charged with providing financial support to female Islamic State members living in a Syrian refugee camp, according to a federal criminal complaint that was unsealed on May 5.
Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 33, was arrested at his home on Kingsford Road near Lake Accotink Park by FBI agents and Fairfax County police, FOX 5 reported Monday. Chhipa is being held in jail and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to federal prosecutors.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
According to an FBI agent’s affidavit unsealed on Friday, Chhipa is accused of providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS “in the form of monetary instruments.”
Federal officials obtained financial records from Apple Federal Credit Union under grand jury subpoenas that showed between November 2019 and July 2022, Chhipa purchased more than $172,000 in virtual currency. Additional financial records obtained from Coinbase and Binance showed that Chhipa received more than $15,000 in virtual currency from other individuals, bringing the total amount of virtual currency moved by Chhipa to over $188,000.
More than $18,000 of the fund went to “ISIS women located in Syria,” according to federal prosecutors. Another $35,000 went to “wallets used in close proximity” to meetings between Chhipa and a woman. Another $61,000 went to cryptocurrency “wallets” in Turkey, and more than $60,000 remains unaccounted for, according to the complaint against Chhipa.
The funds that Chhipa sent were intended to be used to help Islamic State women get out of the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria, according to the affidavit.
Federal officials said Chhipa, who was born in India and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, began using social media to fundraise for “sisters” in the al-Hol camp beginning in 2019, contending the money was for “shelter,” The Washington Post reported.
Source: patch
