The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday announced that Alaa Mohd Abusaad, the former Alabama resident charged last year in Birmingham with attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, has pled guilty to a related charge.
A piece of new criminal information was filed on Wednesday — the 18th anniversary of 9/11 — against Abusaad, charging her with concealment of terrorism financing, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2339C and 2.
She pleaded guilty to this charge on Friday, as announced by assistant attorney general for national security John C. Demers, United States Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama and FBI special agent in charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. of the Birmingham division.
Investigation of the case was conducted by the FBI, including the FBI office in Birmingham.
As outlined in the previously filed complaint, Abusaad instructed an FBI undercover employee (UCE) about how to send money to the mujahedeen — fighters engaged in jihad.
She told the UCE, “[Money] is always needed. You can’t have a war without weapons. You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment.”
Abusaad also advised the UCE on how to send money in a manner that would avoid detection by law enforcement, including by using fake names and addresses when conducting electronic money transfers.
Subsequently, she introduced the UCE to a financial facilitator who could route the UCE’s money to “brothers that work with aq (al Qaeda).”
Al Qaeda is a designated foreign terrorist organization in the United States.
The maximum penalty for concealment of terrorism financing is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as up to a life term of supervised release.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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