A Virginia man has been convicted for sending over $185,000 in cryptocurrency to the terrorist group ISIS, federal officials announced on December 16. Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, of Springfield, faces decades in prison after being found guilty of providing “material support” to ISIS through a crypto financial scheme.
Chhipa, an Indian national who later became a U.S. citizen, was arrested in May 2023 following an investigation by U.S. authorities. He was convicted on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and four additional counts of attempting to provide such support.
The scheme involved Chhipa transferring the large sum in cryptocurrency to ISIS over the course of a conspiracy. He is set to be sentenced on May 5 by a federal judge in Virginia. The case highlights ongoing concerns about the use of digital currencies to fund and support terrorist activities.