Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, Crypto Financing ISIS, Virginia 2022

A Virginia man has been convicted for his role in financing the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.

Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, of Springfield, Virginia, 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 to benefit ISIS in various ways, including by financing the escape of female ISIS members from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters.

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.

His 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 out over $185,000 in cryptocurrency.

The jury found Chhipa guilty on Dec. 13. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 5, 2025. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony T. Aminoff and Amanda St. Cyr for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Andrew John Dixon and Andrea Broach of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuting the case.

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