Former Elkhart Resident Sentenced For Financing Terrorism
News Release
WASHINGTON – Samantha Marie Elhassani, aka Samantha Sally, 35, formerly of Elkhart, was recently sentenced by US District Court Judge Philip P. Simon to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to Financing Terrorism, according to a news release from the US Department of Justice.
The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Thomas L. Kirsch II, FBI Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division Mike McGarrity, and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Indianapolis field office Paul Keenan.
“Once again, the Justice Department has held accountable an individual who turned her back on her country to support a terrorist organization,” said Demers.
“Samantha Elhassani was sentenced today for providing financial support to individuals who desired to support ISIS, a terrorist organization that has committed acts of violence against Americans,” said Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana. “She traveled with her husband and brother-in-law to Syria, both of whom became ISIS fighters, putting the lives of her children at risk. My Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting those like Elhassani who provide support to terrorist organizations. ”
According to documents in this case, in November 2014, Elhassani was informed by her husband that he and his brother wanted to travel to Syria to join ISIS, which she knew at the time was a terrorist organization that engaged in terrorist activities. Between November 2014 and April 1015, Elhassani helped the two men join ISIS by making multiple trips to Hong Kong and transporting more than $30,000 in cash and gold from the United States and depositing it in a safe deposit box in Hong Kong. Elhassani melted down the gold to look like jewelry and did not disclose the cash and gold on customs declaration forms. At the time Elhassani transported the money and gold, she knew that her husband and brother-in-law had expressed an interest in joining ISIS and that they intended to use these resources to support ISIS.
During her last trip to Hong Kong, in late March 2015, Elhassani procured tactical gear, including rifle scopes and image-stabilized binoculars. From there, Elhassani and her family, including her seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, departed for Istanbul, Turkey, and entered ISIS-controlled territory in Syria sometime in or around June 2015. In the months leading up to the move to Syria, Elhassani helped conceal the plans by lying to family, friends and federal agents about her travel.
In July of 2018, Elhassani and her children were transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to U.S. law enforcement custody.
