Two Defendants Convicted of Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS

BROOKLYN, NY - Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Abdullah At Taqi was convicted by a jury on all three counts of an indictment charging him and co-defendant Mohammad David Hashimi with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to launder money. Previously, on October 6, 2025, as jury selection was scheduled to begin, Hashimi pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl to all counts of the indictment. The defendants collectively sent thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency and wire transfers to a self-proclaimed ISIS member. When they are sentenced, each defendant faces up to 60 years' imprisonment.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Todd Blanche, United States Deputy Attorney General; John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's National Security Division; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the convictions.

"The defendants used Bitcoin, PayPal and GoFundMe to fund ISIS's deadly mission," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "ISIS relies on supporters, like the defendants, to sponsor its terrorist aims, which is why our Office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to disrupt that pipeline and prosecute those who provide material support to terrorist organizations and their evildoers."

Mr. Nocella thanked the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force for their outstanding work on the case.

"An exceptional team uncovered the defendants' use of electronic currency to bankroll an abhorrent organization that harbors deep-seated animosity toward America," stated Deputy Attorney General Blanche. "Their intent was to procure weapons for terrorism and now their actions will result in incarceration. Justice has been served."

"Today, a federal jury convicted Abdullah At Taqi for conspiring to fund ISIS, a terrorist organization that has unleashed terror and unimaginable brutality across the globe," stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security Eisenberg. "Taqi conspired to support the group and its atrocities by funneling cryptocurrency to ISIS fighters, hoping they would establish a stronghold in the Middle East from which the group could destabilize the entire region. This conviction reflects the Department's commitment to holding accountable those who knowingly finance terrorism."

"Abdullah At Taqi and Mohammed Hashimi knowingly donated thousands of dollars to an ISIS member through various cryptocurrency exchanges, wire transfers, and purported humanitarian fundraisers," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. "The defendants' actions potentially facilitated the purchase of explosives and ammunition by a designated terrorist organization. May today's conviction emphasize the FBI's stout determination to cease all funding of terrorists to ensure their malevolent ideologies are never brought to fruition."

"The NYPD will stop at nothing to protect New Yorkers from the dangers of ISIS and terrorists who seek to harm our country," stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. "These defendants used a variety of online platforms in an attempt to covertly send thousands of dollars to ISIS members to purchase weapons. Today's conviction demonstrates the NYPD's expertise and commitment to rooting out terrorism and the importance of our partnership with the U.S Attorney's Office and the FBI to stop these dangerous individuals."

As proven at trial, At Taqi sent 15 separate Bitcoin transactions to Osama Obeida, also known as Osama Abu Obayda (Obeida), a self-proclaimed ISIS member, over the course of nearly a year. In conversations with an online confidential source (CHS-1), At Taqi stated that he used cryptocurrency to send money "unnoticed" through a "brother," meaning an ISIS supporter who he spoke to on an encrypted communications platform. At Taqi confirmed that the "brother" was "from Dawlah," referring to ISIS. The "brother" in question was Obeida, whom At Taqi introduced to CHS-1.

Obeida confided to CHS-1 that he had known At Taqi for two years and that At Taqi regularly sent money to Obeida. Obeida sent CHS-1 the below photograph of an ISIS flag and weapons, annotated with CHS-1's online screenname and the date, to prove that the photograph was recent and authentic, and that donations to Obeida were used to buy weapons for ISIS fighters.

Other messages show Obeida instructing At Taqi to delete messages and change his IP address.

Hashimi was a member of a group chat for ISIS supporters (Group Chat-1) on an encrypted platform. In early April 2021, members of Group Chat-1 discussed posting links that purported to be raising funds for humanitarian causes, but from which the money would actually be diverted to help the "mujahideen," an Arabic term used by ISIS supporters to refer to ISIS fighters. A co-conspirator posted a Bitcoin address, and another member of Group Chat-1 posted a link to a PayPal campaign, both of which were controlled by Obeida. In response, Hashimi told people to be careful sending links because they could be detected and arrested by law enforcement.

Through a combination of Bitcoin, PayPal, and GoFundMe, the defendants transferred thousands of dollars to Obeida, the person whom At Taqi identified as being "from Dawlah," a reference to ISIS. At Taqi, Hashimi, and a third co-defendant, Seema Rahman, along with co-conspirator Khalilullah Yousuf, contributed more than $24,000 to Obeida's Bitcoin address, with Yousuf contributing $20,347.89, At Taqi contributing $2,769.35, and Rahman contributing $927.51. The four co-conspirators also sent more than $1,000 to the PayPal account associated with Obeida, with Rahman contributing approximately $550, At Taqi contributing approximately $695, and Hashimi contributing $55. In addition, both Yousuf and Rahman created multiple GoFundMe fundraising campaigns purporting to collect money for charitable causes. Hashimi contributed $364 and At Taqi contributed $200 through the Yousuf-created GoFundMe campaigns, while Rahman raised approximately $10,000 through the GoFundMe campaigns that she created, and then wired the proceeds, approximately $10,024, to individuals connected to Obeida via Western Union.

Rahman pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and is awaiting sentencing. Yousuf was arrested and prosecuted in Canada.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Ellen H. Sise, Nina C. Gupta, and Gilbert M. Rein are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Alicia Cook of the Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section and Paralegal Specialist Magdalena St. Surin.

The Defendants:

MOHAMMAD DAVID HASHIMI
Age: 38
Potomac Falls, Virginia

ABDULLAH AT TAQI
Age: 26
Queens, New York

SEEMA RAHMAN
Age: 28
Edison, New Jersey

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-553 (ENV)