U.S. Man Sentenced for Funding ISIS

Virginia man sentenced for sending $185,000 in crypto to support ISIS operations.

A man from Springfield, Virginia, has been sentenced to more than 30 years in federal prison for sending large sums of money to support the Islamic State, or ISIS. Over a three-year period, Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa moved more than $185,000 to the group using cryptocurrency. He didn’t just move the money on a whim—he collected it from online fundraisers and in-person pickups, then transferred it through digital currency to contacts in Turkey. From there, the money was smuggled across the border to Syria, where it helped ISIS fighters and paid for the escape of women affiliated with ISIS who were being held in prison camps.