(AP) A Virginia man accused of funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the Islamic State group was a lonely man looking for a wife and relentlessly targeted by FBI sting operations, a defense lawyer told jurors Monday, including one undercover operative who pretended to be a willing bride.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria heard opening statements in the terrorism trial of Mohammed Chhipa, 35, of Springfield, Virginia. Prosecutors say he met several times with an undercover FBI operative who gave him hundreds of dollars on multiple occasions in 2021 and 2022, earmarked for a Syrian woman and Islamic State member known as Umm Dujanah.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Andrew Dixon said Chhipa took the money on each occasion, converted it to Bitcoin and sent it to accounts in Turkey, destined for the Islamic State.
