A Federal Court in Virginia has sentenced a man to prison until he’s 65, for funding the Islamic State (ISIS) with cryptocurrency worth $185,000.
Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, was sentenced on May 7, 2025 to 30 years and four months behind bars by U.S. District Judge David Novak of Virginia Federal court, for providing financial support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including aiding female members of the terrorist group in escaping detention camps in Syria.
The sentencing follows Chhipa’s conviction in December 2024 on multiple charges, including conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between October 2019 and October 2022, Chhipa sent more than $185,000 to ISIS members, funneling funds via cryptocurrency transactions. Prosecutors said the money was used to aid escape efforts from Syrian prison camps and to support ISIS’s ongoing militant activities.
Source: Alexandria Sheriff’s Office via TRM
Chhipa is accused of using social media to raise the funds, sometimes traveling across the country to collect donations in person. The funds were then converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to recipients in Turkey, who allegedly smuggled the money across the border into Syria for ISIS operatives.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said,”This defendant directly financed ISIS in its efforts to commit vile terrorist atrocities against innocent citizens in America and abroad”.
Chhipa’s attempted escape during FBI probe
During the FBI’s investigation, Chhipa allegedly attempted to evade capture. Court documents detail a failed escape effort in August 2019, when Chhipa withdrew cash after a federal search of his home and paid a stranger for a ride to a relative’s house. He later purchased bus tickets using aliases and traveled from the U.S. to Mexico and Guatemala, eventually flying toward Egypt via Panama and Germany. Authorities intercepted him after an Interpol Blue Notice was issued, and he was brought back to the United States.
Chhipa was convicted on five counts, including one of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and four counts of providing or attempting to provide such support.
