An American man sending cryptocurrency to ISIS could face up to 65 years in prison

U.S. attorneys said the 35-year-old man from Virginia has funded "brutal terrorist acts" and helped female members of the Islamic State escape from prisons in Syria.

A man from the state of Virginia in the United States will have to serve more than three decades in prison after being convicted of sending cryptocurrency to the terrorist organization commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Federal Judge David Novak sentenced Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa to 30 years and four months in prison on May 7 for sending over $185,000 to the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on May 8.

Prosecutors stated that from around October 2019 to October 2022, Chhipa, 35, collected and sent money to female members of the Islamic State in Syria, helping them escape from prison camps and funding combat operations.

The Department of Justice said Chhipa raised funds for the organization designated as terrorist by the United Nations through social media, receiving money online or traveling hundreds of miles to directly collect donations.

Prosecutors said he converted this money into cryptocurrency and sent it to Turkey to smuggle to Islamic State members across the Syrian border.

A federal jury convicted Chhipa in December, finding him guilty of conspiracy to support a terrorist organization and four counts of supporting and attempting to support a terrorist organization.