Man sentenced to 30 years for funding ISIS with cryptocurrency

Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa received a 364-month sentence after a federal jury found him guilty in December 2024 of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and four counts of providing or attempting to provide such support.

Chhipa, 35, solicited donations online through multiple social media accounts and sometimes walked hundreds of miles to collect cash in person, according to the Department of Justice.

He then converted the funds — more than $185,000 between October 2019 and October 2022 — into cryptocurrency and transferred it to recipients in Turkey. Evidence at trial showed the funds were ultimately funneled to ISIS operatives in Syria and used to support prison breaks, attack logistics, and fighter welfare.

“Those who fund and facilitate terror bear the same responsibility as those who carry out attacks,” U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia said about the sentence.

Authorities in the United States have been vocal about stemming crypto flows to bad actors. Blockchain skeptics like Senator Elizabeth Warren have been at the forefront of such efforts. Bi-partisan agitation also called for changes to tackle crypto-related illicit financing.

While some crypto-based value ends up in criminal hands, data showed that this amount remained small compared to the larger digital asset ecosystem. Historically, less than 1% of all crypto transactions have involved illegal parties, per Chainalysis.