Chicago Cousins Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

WASHINGTON – Zubair Ahmed, 29, and Khaleel Ahmed, 28, both residents of Chicago, pleaded guilty today in the Northern District of Ohio to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in connection with their efforts to travel abroad in order to murder or maim U.S. military forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Today’s guilty pleas were announced by Matthew Olsen, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security; William J. Edwards, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio; and C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge, Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Zubair Ahmed and his cousin Khaleel Ahmed each pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge James G. Carr in Toledo, Ohio, to a one-count, superseding information charging them with conspiracy to provide material support and resources, including the defendants themselves as personnel, to terrorists in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2339A. At sentencing, each defendant faces a statutory maximum of 15 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to the superseding information and other information entered into the court record today:

The criminal conspiracy involving Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed began no later than April 1, 2004, and continued until their arrests on Feb. 21, 2007. As part of the conspiracy, the defendants made preparations to travel overseas in order to engage in acts that would result in the murder or maiming of U.S. military forces in either Iraq or Afghanistan. On or about May 21, 2004, the defendants traveled to Cairo, Egypt, with the intent of engaging in acts that would result in the murder or maiming of U.S. military forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.

After their return from Egypt, on or about July 4, 2004, Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed discussed, sought and received instruction on firearms from another individual in Cleveland. The defendants also sought and discussed training in counter-surveillance techniques and sniper rifles with this individual. Specifically, defendant Zubair Ahmed discussed his desire to learn how to use and move with a .50-caliber machine gun.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendants also communicated with each other using code words and in a foreign language to disguise their preparations and plans to engage in acts abroad that would result in the murder or maiming of U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Furthermore, Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed researched the purchase of firearms, methods of obtaining firearms instruction (including at least one visit to a firing range) and methods of obtaining instruction in gunsmithing. In addition, the defendants collected and distributed videos of attacks on U.S. military forces overseas, manuals on military tactics and military manuals on weaponry.

"Today’s guilty pleas should send a strong message to individuals who would use this country as a platform to plot attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Matthew Olsen, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security. "This case also underscores the need for continued vigilance in identifying and dismantling extremist plots that develop within our nation."

William J. Edwards, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said: "These guilty pleas are testament to the hard work and dedication of all the federal, state and local law enforcement officials who have spent years investigating this case and to the tireless efforts and perseverance of an extremely talented team of federal prosecutors who, with their law enforcement partners, keep this country safe from terrorists."

C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge, Cleveland Division, FBI, said: "This case is an example of our continued efforts to detect terrorist planning and to prevent acts of terrorism before they occur. Through close cooperation with our law enforcement partners in Illinois and Ohio, this case resulted in the successful prosecution of these individuals."

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Chicago, Illinois and Toledo, Ohio, with the assistance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Chicago Police Department; the Illinois State Police; the Ohio Highway Patrol; the Toledo Police Department; and the Lucas and Wood County Sheriff’s Departments.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Getz and Justin E. Herdman of the National Security Unit of the U.S Attorney’s Office in Cleveland; as well Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Austin, Texas (formerly of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section); and Trial Attorneys Jerome J. Teresinski and Jolie F. Zimmerman of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago also provided assistance in this case.

July 12, 2010

NOTE The following text is a quote:

http://cleveland.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/cl071210.htm

Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Terrorists

CLEVELAND—Zubair Ahmed was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Khaleel Ahmed was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison today for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach.

“These sentences send a strong message that we will aggressively go after those who would do harm to our servicemen and servicewomen,” U.S. Attorney Dettelbach said. “There is no greater priority for us than combating those who would do us harm.”

The Ahmeds pled guilty in January 2009 before U.S. District Judge James Carr.

According to court documents, the Ahmeds admitted that between April 1, 2004, and Feb. 21, 2007, they unlawfully and knowingly conspired with other persons, known and unknown, to provide material support and resources knowing they were to be used in preparation for and in carrying out a violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 956 (conspiracy to kill and maim individuals outside the United States, including members of the U.S. military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

Zubair Ahmed, 31, of North Chicago, Ill., and Khaleel Ahmed, 29, of Chicago, are cousins.

In May 2004, they traveled together to Cairo, Egypt, where they hoped to make contact with the mujahedeen, receive training and be placed in either Iraq or Afghanistan to fight U.S. troops, according to court records.

They returned to the United States, where they came in contact with an undercover informant and sought military training, according to court records.

Zubair Ahmed testified twice in related cases in Atlanta.

Both were also sentenced to three years of supervised release and each was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Getz and Justin E. Herdman of the Cleveland U.S. Attorney’s Office with help from the Justice Department’s counterterrorism attorneys. It followed an investigation by the FBI’s Chicago Office, with assistance from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Toledo, Ohio. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta also provided support in the case.

NOTE The following text is a quote:

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/july10/toledo_072210.html

MADE IN THE U.S.A.
The Case of the Toledo Terror Cell
07/22/10

The case was opened in 2004 by our Joint Terrorism Task Force in our Toledo office.

In the suburbs of Toledo—a bustling city on the northern border of Ohio—three men were leading seemingly normal lives. One worked at a travel agency. Another ran a car dealership with his brother. The third was a self-employed businessman with several kids.

All three, however—two American citizens and the third a legal permanent resident—were secretly part of a homegrown terror cell conspiring to recruit and train insurgents to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq. (Also part of the cell—two Chicago cousins named in a superseding indictment who were sentenced earlier this month after being recruited by one of the Toledo defendants.)

How did he end up in an American courtroom? Because U.S. law says that if human rights violators are U.S. nationals, commit offenses against U.S. citizens, or are present in this country, they can be charged here. In Taylor’s case, he was born in America, and he was arrested in 2006 while trying to enter the country illegally.

What the men didn’t realize was that we knew all about it—thanks to a cooperating witness who helped our investigation from start to finish, and testified at trial.

The case was opened in 2004 by our Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in our Toledo Resident Agency. Also pitching in were JTTFs in our Cleveland and Chicago Divisions, as well as a host of local, federal, and international partners.

Our cooperating witness, who began working for us after 9/11, was actually a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, specifically playing the part of an ex-soldier, only with a twist—he’d grown disenchanted with U.S. policies, become a radical convert to Islam, and was willing to provide training for violent jihad.

For two years, during the operational phase of the investigation, our witness met with the three men—Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum—and made more than 100 secret (and fully lawful) recordings of those meetings, giving us a real-time view into the activities of the cell. At the same time, we were able to control what the trio obtained from our witness—for example, he didn’t give them actual explosives training.

Because of his military expertise, our witness gained the trust of all three men—crucial in such an operation. He even took a trip overseas to Jordan with Amawi, where he was introduced to Amawi’s family.

The recordings revealed a litany of activities and support in the name of terror. Working together or separately, the three men:

Taught themselves how to make and use explosives;
Conducted their own training exercises;
Looked at and shared often graphic jihadist videos and materials on the Internet, including on how to make a suicide bomber’s vest;
Tried to provide computers and explosives to mujahideen fighters overseas and attempted to set up a false company that would funnel money; and
Discussed possible targets for their violent jihad, ultimately agreeing that they should go after U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
In February 2006—because of mounting concern about the intentions of Amawi, who was in Jordan at the time—we shut the operation down and took all three suspects into custody. All were found guilty at trial in June 2008, becoming the first members of a homegrown terror cell since 9/11 to be convicted at trial on terrorism-related charges. And the three men were sentenced last fall to prison terms ranging from eight to 20 years.

In the end, the success of the investigation was the result of both time-tested law enforcement techniques and our growing post-9/11 partnerships and intelligence-gathering/analysis capabilities.

Resources:
- Press release
- More terrorism cases and programs

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