Rochester Man Charged in ISIS Recruitment Plot

A federal grand jury in Rochester has indicted Mufid A. Elfgeeh, 30, on seven counts, including attempting to provide material support to ISIS, attempted murder of US soldiers, and possession of firearms and silencers.

According to court records, Elfgeeh attempted to provide material support to ISIS in the form of personnel, namely three individuals, two of whom were cooperating with the FBI. Elfgeeh attempted to assist all three individuals in traveling to Syria to join and fight on behalf of ISIS.

Elfgeeh also plotted to shoot and kill members of the United States military who had returned from Iraq. As part of the plan to kill soldiers, Elfgeeh purchased two handguns equipped with firearm silencers and ammunition from a confidential source. The handguns were made inoperable by the FBI before the confidential source gave them to Elfgeeh.

Elfgeeh faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for each of the material support charges, 20 years for the attempted murder charge, 30 years to life for the firearms possession charge, and 10 years for each of the firearm silencer charges.

Attorney General Eric Holder said, “We will remain aggressive in identifying and disrupting those who seek to provide support to ISIL and other terrorist groups that are bent on inflicting harm upon Americans.”

Assistant Attorney General John Carlin added, “Disrupting and holding accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations is and shall remain a critical national security priority.”

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said, “With today’s indictment of Mufid Elfgeeh, the government demonstrates that it will use all available tools to disrupt and defeat ISIL.”

According to court documents, in 2013 and into early 2014, Elfgeeh encouraged the two confidential sources to travel overseas to engage in violent jihad. After CS-1 and CS-2 agreed to travel to Syria to join ISIS, Elfgeeh took several steps to prepare them for the trip. Elfgeeh also sent $600 to an individual in Yemen for the purpose of assisting that individual in traveling from Yemen to Syria for the purpose of joining and fighting on behalf of ISIS.

Court documents also indicate that Elfgeeh first discussed the idea of shooting United States military members in December 2013 when he told CS-2 that he was thinking about getting a gun and ammunition, putting on a bulletproof vest, and “just go[ing] around and start shooting.”

Elfgeeh later gave CS-2 $1,050 in cash to purchase two handguns equipped with silencers.

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