read it, comment it & please share it
Two men have been arrested and indicted in St. Louis on charges of providing support to a Somali terror group, the U.S. Justice Department said.
St. Louis resident Mohamud Abdi Yusuf was named on four charges of providing material support to a designated terrorist organization and one charge of conspiracy to structure financial transactions. Minneapolis resident Abdi Mahdi Hussein was named on a charge of conspiracy to structure financial transactions.
The indictment, returned Oct. 21 and unsealed Wednesday, said from February 2008 through at least July 2009, Yusuf and a third defendant, Duwayne Mohamed Diriye, a resident of Kenya and Somalia, were involved in a conspiracy to provide funds to al-Shabaab, a militant Somali militia, the department said.
The indictment said Yusuf sent funds to al-Shabaab supporters in Somalia, including Diriye, from U.S. money remitting businesses, in part by using fictitious names and telephone numbers. Yusuf is also charged with conspiring with Abdi Mahdi Hussein, an employee of a licensed money remitting business, to structure financial transactions to avoid record keeping requirements.
FBI agents arrested Yusuf Monday in St. Louis, and arrested Hussein Tuesday in Minneapolis. Both defendants made initial appearances in federal court Tuesday.
Diriye, who remains at large in Kenya or Somalia, is charged in the indictment with one felony count each of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
If convicted, Yusuf could be sentenced to a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for each count of providing material support to terrorist. Yusuf and Hussein could each be sentenced to a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for conspiring to structure transactions.
UPI
0 Comments