An Ohio man pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court in Minnesota to US charges of helping raise money for al-Shabaab rebels in Somalia, prosecutors said.
Ahmed Hussein Mahamud, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a group designated by the US as a terrorist organization. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.
Mahamud, a US citizen who was indicted in June last year, admitted to telling people in the Somalian-American community in Minnesota the money would support a local mosque or orphans, but using it instead to help send men to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, according to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
RAISING MONEY
Mahamud and others raised up to US$1,500 in the effort, using some of the money on airline tickets or other expenses, according to the plea deal.
In other instances, Mahamud admitted to wiring US$50 to a man in Somalia who was buying a firearm, US$50 for other expenses to a second man and assisting someone in sending US$100 to Somalia for a weapons purchase to support the organization, according to the plea agreement.
Mahamud, a Westerville, Ohio, resident who formerly lived in Minnesota, admitted to providing the support from 2008 through February last year.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somalian-American population in the US.
LEAVING MINNEAPOLIS
Since September 2007, about 20 men have left Minneapolis for Somalia to join al-Shabaab. Eighteen people have been charged in US federal court in Minnesota so far in the investigation.
Eight have been arrested and seven have pleaded guilty.
At least two of the men who have been charged in the Minnesota investigation are believed to have been killed in Somalia.
NO MORE WIRING
The guilty plea comes weeks after a US bank decided to shut down wire transfer services that provide a lifeline from Minnesota to Somalia over concerns that it could risk violating US regulatory and anti-terrorism finance laws.
Each year, Somalian-Americans send about US$100 million to Somalia through small money transfer businesses. Somalia has no formal banking system.
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