Long Island Muslima funneled money to ISIS via Bitcoin

A Brentwood Long Island woman, Zoobia Shanaz, 27, allegedly laundered tens of thousands of dollars via Bitcoin to support ISIS. 

Shanaz (pronounced "Schnoz") worked at a Manhattan hospital as a lab tech. She is charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that in June and July, Shanaz used no less than 16 credit cards in her name to buy more than $62,700 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. She also is alleged to have obtained a $22,500 loan from a bank in Manhattan and all of the money was deposited into two separate bank accounts. She later wired the money to people in Pakistan, China and Turkey.

It's believed Shanaz used methods to avoid reporting requirements on transactions and to conceal her identity, source and destination of the illegally-obtained money.

Investigators said her efforts were intended to support the Islamic State, which she planned to join.

The court filing also stated:

"Specifically, the investigation has revealed that, during the time she was committing bank fraud and moving money overseas, the defendant accessed ISIS propaganda, violent jihad-related websites and message boards, and social media and messaging pages of known ISIS recruiters, facilitators and financiers. Additionally, the defendant conducted numerous internet searches for maps of and locations within ISIS-controlled territory in Syria, and attempted to locate information that would facilitate her entry into Syria."

According to prosecutors, Shanaz obtained a Pakistani passport, quit her job in June, but didn't inform her family. She booked a flight to Syria to leave NYC on July 31 and headed to the airport that day. Her family believed she was going to work. But she was planning to join ISIS.

She had a return ticket booked for September 4th, 2017, but she had no plan to return and only booked a return flight to appear less suspicious.

As the terrorist wannabe arrived for her flight at JFK Airport, agents intercepted her at the gate and questioned her. She gave them false and conflicting explanations about her overseas wire transfers. She had $9,500 in cash with her, which is just under the limit.

She was taken into custody and charged. She has no known prior criminal history.

Federal authorities said Shanaz obtained over $150,000 in illicit funds and made no attempt to pay back the credit cards used to buy Bitcoin.

"The defendant presents an irremediable flight risk and an extreme danger to the community," prosecutors said in the court papers. "Accordingly, she must be detained pending trial."

She sounds lovely.


Tweet