A Pakistan-born woman has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) by participating in a scheme under which she wired over $ 150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for the terror group.&nbsp;

Zoobia Shahnaz, 27, of Brentwood, New York, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Joanna Seybert, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C Demers said.&nbsp;

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last December, Pakistan-born Shahnaz was a naturalized US citizen. She had come to the US using a family-based immigration system, under which she had got the US visa because of her family ties.&nbsp;

According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between March 2017 and the date of her attempted travel to Syria on July 31, 2017, Shahnaz engaged in a scheme to defraud numerous financial institutions.&nbsp;

Specifically, Shahnaz obtained a loan for approximately $ 22,500 by way of materially false pretenses, representations and promises. She also fraudulently applied for and used over a dozen credit cards, which she used to purchase approximately $ 62,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. She then engaged in a pattern of financial activity, culminating in several wire transactions totalling over $ 150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for the ISIS.&nbsp;

During the time she was committing bank fraud and laundering money overseas, she was accessing ISIS propaganda online, including violent jihad-related websites and message boards, and social media and messaging pages of known ISIS recruiters, facilitators and financiers.&nbsp;

Additionally, she conducted numerous internet searches for information that would facilitate her entry into Syria, but ultimately was intercepted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) at John F Kennedy International Airport while attempting to board a flight with a multi-day layover in Istanbul&nbsp;a common point of entry for individuals travelling from Western countries to join the ISIS in Syria, prosecutors said.&nbsp;

As part of her plea agreement with the government, Shahnaz admitted to defrauding numerous financial institutions and laundering the stolen proceeds out of the country with the intent to support a specified unlawful activity, namely the provision of material support to ISIS, after which she attempted to leave the United States and travel to Syria.&nbsp;

Shahnaz faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture and a fine.

A Pakistan-born woman has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) by participating in a scheme under which she wired over $ 150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for the terror group.

A Pakistan-born woman has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) by participating in a scheme under which she wired over $ 150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for the terror group. Zoobia Shahnaz, 27, of Brentwood, New York, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Joanna Seybert, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C Demers said. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal last December, Pakistan-born Shahnaz was a naturalized US citizen. She had come to the US using a family-based immigration system, under which she had got the US visa because of her family ties. According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between March 2017 and the date of her attempted travel to Syria on July 31, 2017, Shahnaz engaged in a scheme to defraud numerous financial institutions. Specifically, Shahnaz obtained a loan for approximately $ 22,500 by way of materially false pretenses, representations and promises. She also fraudulently applied for and used over a dozen credit cards, which she used to purchase approximately $ 62,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. She then engaged in a pattern of financial activity, culminating in several wire transactions totalling over $ 150,000 to individuals and shell entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for the ISIS. During the time she was committing bank fraud and laundering money overseas, she was accessing ISIS propaganda online, including violent jihad-related websites and message boards, and social media and messaging pages of known ISIS recruiters, facilitators and financiers. Additionally, she conducted numerous internet searches for information that would facilitate her entry into Syria, but ultimately was intercepted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) at John F Kennedy International Airport while attempting to board a flight with a multi-day layover in Istanbul a common point of entry for individuals travelling from Western countries to join the ISIS in Syria, prosecutors said. As part of her plea agreement with the government, Shahnaz admitted to defrauding numerous financial institutions and laundering the stolen proceeds out of the country with the intent to support a specified unlawful activity, namely the provision of material support to ISIS, after which she attempted to leave the United States and travel to Syria. Shahnaz faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture and a fine.

US: Pakistan-born woman pleads guilty to providing material support to IS

Indian-American Ravinder Bhalla, who became the first Sikh mayor of New Jersey&#39;s Hoboken city, has publicly acknowledged that death threats were made against him and his family recently.

In a statement issued on Friday following a security breach at City Hall, Bhalla said the city is working with the FBI&#39;s Joint Terrorism Task Force to improve security at City Hall.

&quot;This incident, along with death threats to me and my family, is an unfortunate reminder that we need to take security seriously,&quot; Bhalla said, without elaborating on the threats.

According to city spokesman Juan Melli, a man entered City Hall and told security he needed to use the restroom after going through the metal detectors. While Bhalla was not in his office at the time, his deputy chief of staff, Jason

Freeman, observed the man throw a bag with an object in it towards the administrative assistant&#39;s desk before running out of the office, Melli said. Bhalla became the first ever Sikh to hold office in New Jersey after a stiff competition that turned ugly when he was labelled a terrorist in slanderous flyers.

'This incident, along with death threats to me and my family, is an unfortunate reminder that we need to take security seriously,' Bhalla said, without elaborating on the threats

Indian-American Ravinder Bhalla, who became the first Sikh mayor of New Jersey's Hoboken city, has publicly acknowledged that death threats were made against him and his family recently. In a statement issued on Friday following a security breach at City Hall, Bhalla said the city is working with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force to improve security at City Hall. "This incident, along with death threats to me and my family, is an unfortunate reminder that we need to take security seriously," Bhalla said, without elaborating on the threats. According to city spokesman Juan Melli, a man entered City Hall and told security he needed to use the restroom after going through the metal detectors. While Bhalla was not in his office at the time, his deputy chief of staff, Jason Freeman, observed the man throw a bag with an object in it towards the administrative assistant's desk before running out of the office, Melli said. Bhalla became the first ever Sikh to hold office in New Jersey after a stiff competition that turned ugly when he was labelled a terrorist in slanderous flyers.

Death threats made against me, family: US Sikh mayor

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US: Pakistan-born woman pleads guilty to providing material support to IS

Death threats made against me, family: US Sikh mayor