Money Laundering to Support ISIS Through Bitcoin Fraud

U.S. prosecutors on Thursday charged a woman residing in Long Island, New York, with laundering over $85,000 for the Islamic State group, ISIS, obtained through Bitcoin fraud. According to Reuters, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York, announced that the woman named Zobia Shahnaz, 27, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. A prosecutor stated that Zobia Shahnaz denied the charges during her initial court hearing on Thursday. Reuters has not yet been able to obtain a comment from Shahnaz's defense attorney. Prosecutors say Shahnaz received a loan and several credit cards by providing false information to multiple banks and financial institutions between March and July of this year, using the funds to purchase Bitcoin. According to the prosecution, she laundered the money by transferring it to shell companies in Pakistan, China, and Turkey, with the ultimate goal of using these funds to benefit the Islamic State group, ISIS. The U.S. Attorney's Office added that Shahnaz intended to travel to Syria in July but was stopped by border patrol agents at John F. Kennedy Airport before boarding a flight to Islamabad, Pakistan, and was questioned. According to the New York Attorney's Office, the penalty for the most serious charge against this woman, money laundering, could be 30 years in prison if proven.