Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, Crypto Financing for ISIS, Virginia 2022

A federal jury has convicted a Springfield man of financing the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and four counts of providing and attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Chhipa collected and sent money to female ISIS members in Syria from at least October 2019 through October 2022. He would raise funds online on various social media accounts, receive electronic transfers of funds, and travel hundreds of miles to collect funds by hand. He would then convert the money to cryptocurrency and send it to Turkey, where it was smuggled to ISIS members in Syria.

Chhipa’s primary co-conspirator was a British-born ISIS member residing in Syria who was involved in raising funds for prison escapes, terrorist attacks, and ISIS fighters. Over the course of the conspiracy, Chhipa sent over $185,000 in cryptocurrency.

The jury found Chhipa guilty on December 13, and he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count when sentenced on May 5, 2025. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and the Counterterrorism Section.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-97.

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