Court Case

USA v. Shahnaz, Zoobia

December 2017 (Updated March 13, 2020)
Central Islip, NY
Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)

[EDNY] A five-count indictment charged Zoobia Shahnaz with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and three substantive counts of money laundering. Shahnaz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically more than $150,000 to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS.

Related Topics: Prosecutions, Terror Financing

Case Updates

2020-03-13 | Long Island Woman Sentenced to 13 Years' Imprisonment for Providing Material Support to ISIS

On March 13 Zoobia Shahnaz was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically more than $150,000 to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS. Shahnaz pleaded guilty in November 2018. As set forth in court filings and facts presented at the sentencing hearing, between March 2017 and July 2017, Shahnaz defrauded numerous financial institutions to obtain money for ISIS, including a loan for approximately $22,500. Shahnaz also fraudulently obtained more than a dozen credit cards and used them to purchase approximately $62,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. Shahnaz then made multiple wire transfers totaling more than $150,000 to individuals and entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for ISIS.

Case Documents