US Woman Funding ISIS With Bitcoin Gets 13-Year Jail Sentence

A United States federal court has sentenced a U.S. citizen to 13 years in jail for laundering money for ISIS using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Per a Department of Justice announcement on March 13, Zoobia Shahnaz of Long Island received a 13-year sentence for working to fund the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham through cryptocurrency payments amounting to over $150,000. She also worked to move to Syria to become a member of ISIS.

Fraudulent loans for financing

To raise the funds, Shahnaz allegedly defrauded major banks including American Express, Chase and Discover, according to the original indictment from December 2017.

The United States alleged that Shahnaz secured loans and credit cards under false pretenses, which she used to buy cryptocurrencies that she funneled through Pakistan, China and Turkey and eventually to ISIS.

As Cointelegraph reported, Shahnaz was on her way to Syria in July of 2017 when officials prevented her from boarding a flight at JFK Airport in New York…