Springfield man who funneled over $185,000 to ISIS through cryptocurrency receives thirty-year sentence

Springfield, Virginia – A 35-year-old man from Springfield will spend more than three decades behind bars after being sentenced for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a group officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa was handed a sentence of 30 years and four months in federal prison following his conviction on multiple counts of funding terrorist activity.

From Social Media to Smuggling Networks

According to court documents and evidence introduced during trial, Chhipa’s involvement in terrorism financing spanned from October 2019 to October 2022. During that time, he engaged in raising, collecting, and transmitting funds to individuals associated with ISIS. His main efforts were focused on supporting female ISIS members who were detained in prison camps in Syria. He provided financial resources to help them escape and further supported ISIS fighters active in the region.

Chhipa used a mix of online and in-person methods to obtain money. He created fundraising posts on various social media platforms, and accepted electronic transfers. In several cases, he even traveled hundreds of miles to pick up funds in person. Once collected, the money was converted into cryptocurrency, then routed to Turkey, where it was smuggled into Syria for delivery to ISIS members.

Prosecutors revealed that Chhipa ultimately transferred more than $185,000 over the course of the three-year conspiracy. His primary partner was an active ISIS member based in Syria who worked directly to fund prison escapes, terrorist attacks, and the group’s ongoing combat operations.

“This defendant directly financed ISIS in its efforts to commit vile terrorist atrocities against innocent citizens in America and abroad,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This severe sentence illustrates that if you fund terrorism, we will prosecute you and put you behind bars for decades.”

In December 2024, Chhipa was convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, as well as four counts of providing and attempting to provide such support.

High-Level Officials Respond to Sentencing

Top officials at the Department of Justice and FBI underscored the severity of the case and its implications for national security.

“Those who fund and facilitate terror bear the same responsibility as those who carry out attacks,” said Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Mohammed Chhipa knowingly and persistently collected and provided a considerable amount of money to fund the violence of an organization bent on forcing their extremist ideology on others. That he did so from a nation that holds individual freedom sacrosanct is unconscionable.”

FBI Director Kash Patel emphasized the threat posed by individuals who finance terror from within the U.S. “With this sentencing, this defendant will pay the price for helping finance ISIS, a brutal terrorist organization,” he said. “This is more proof that the FBI will investigate and work with our DOJ partners to hold accountable anyone who assists ISIS or other terrorist groups. Whether you are a fighter or send money, these activities are illegal and against the national security interests of the United States.”

Steven J. Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, echoed that view. “Mr. Chhipa transferred more than $185,000 to members of a designated terrorist organization,” he noted. “Such funds could have been used to enable terrorist operations and attacks targeting innocent U.S. citizens at home and abroad. Today’s sentencing underscores the FBI’s commitment to severing these streams of funding and keeping the American people safe.”

The case serves as a sobering example of how financial support, even from thousands of miles away, can contribute to violent extremism—and that such actions carry consequences just as serious as those who commit the violence firsthand.