Lawyer: Brentwood woman expected to plead guilty in bank fraud case prosecutors tied to ISIS
A Brentwood woman accused of defrauding financial institutions to raise funds for the Islamic State is expected to plead guilty to bank fraud and other charges when she returns to Central Islip federal court on Nov. 26, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Queens attorney Steve Zissou told U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert during a hearing in federal court Tuesday that Zoobia Shahnaz, 28, will plead guilty to bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering when she returns to court Nov. 26.
Shahnaz had pleaded not guilty after an indictment accusing her of committing fraud to assist the Islamic State was unsealed in December.
Zissou said Shahnaz, who faces up to 20 years in prison, decided to change her plea based on an assessment of the evidence against her. He said Shahnaz is not cooperating with authorities.
The indictment unsealed last year said Shahnaz, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, made false representations to obtain a loan for $22,500 and applied for more than a dozen credit cards, which she used to purchase $62,000 in Bitcoin and other online currencies. Shahnaz ultimately wired more than $150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey, according to the indictment, knowing the funds would be used for "unlawful activities."
“These transactions were designed to avoid transaction reporting requirements, conceal the identity, source and destination of the illicitly obtained monies and ultimately benefit ISIS,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a news release in December.
Prosecutors say Shahnaz planned to travel to Syria when she boarded a flight to Islamabad, Pakistan, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in July 2017. Her itinerary included a multiday layover in Istanbul, Turkey, which prosecutors said is a common point of entry for individuals traveling from Western countries to join ISIS in Syria.
After Shahnaz was arrested last year, Zissou said the former lab assistant in a Manhattan hospital did not intend to help terrorists, but instead hoped to assist refugees she met while working as a medical volunteer in Syria in 2016.
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