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Ohio Men Plead Guilty to Concealing Financing of Terrorism
Three men have pleaded guilty to their roles in concealing the provision of thousands of dollars to Anwar Al-Awlaki, a key leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in an effort to support violent jihad against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world.
The guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman of the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony of the FBI’s Cleveland Division.
Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, 38; Asif Ahmed Salim, 37; and Sultane Room Salim, 43, each pleaded guilty this week to one count of concealment of financing of terrorism. They are expected to be sentenced later this year.
According to court documents, Ibrahim Mohammad, an Indian citizen who studied engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2001 through 2005, became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in or around 2007. Asif Salim, a U.S. citizen who studied at Ohio State University between 2000 and 2005, became a resident of Overland Park, Kansas, in 2007. Sultane Salim, a U.S. citizen who resided in the Chicago area from 2006 through 2012, moved to the Columbus area.
The three defendants who pleaded guilty this week acted to conceal supplying funds to Anwar Al-Awlaki in 2009. Al-Awlaki advocated violence against the United States and supported and was involved in attempted terrorist attacks against civilians, according to court documents.
A fourth defendant, Yahya Farooq Mohammad, pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to provide and conceal material support or resources to terrorists and one count of solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Farooq Mohammad admitted to conspiring to travel to Yemen to provide thousands of dollars, equipment, and other assistance to Al-Awlaki. He also admitted to soliciting an undercover FBI employee posing as a hitman to kidnap and murder U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary.
Farooq Mohammad was sentenced to 27 ½ years in prison last year. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Cleveland Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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