Indiana: ISIS Wife Guilty of Sneaking Money to the Terrorists

Editor:  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  Sorry, I haven’t written much at ‘Frauds and Crooks’ lately but things are hopping on the refugee front and I’ll have to keep my focus there (at Refugee Resettlement Watch) in the coming weeks.

The President’s September Executive Order which would give state and local governments some say in whether refugees will be placed in certain locations has energized the refugee industry and all across the country they are mobilizing to pressure governors and local governments to tell the President that they want MORE refugees.  Six governors have so far said—send them to my state!  There appears to be a late December deadline for all to weigh in, but guidance has not been published as far as I can tell.

The day before Thanksgiving, I published a list of 88 mayors who said they wanted more refugees and that post went viral.

Here is the news I had planned for today.

FBI: Samantha Elhassani betrayed her fellow Americans.

I’m reminded once again that a gullible young woman got involved with a (likely charming) Moroccan national and produced 4 children with him while helping him help ISIS.

He is dead, she was returned from Syria to face justice in the US, has lost her children to Indiana social services and now faces prison time.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 2020.

Time is short (must get back to RRW), so I’m posting only the Justice Department press statement from earlier this week, if you want to learn more about her, search her name and you will see several news accounts giving more details about how she became a traitor to America.

Former Indiana Resident Pleads Guilty to Concealing Terrorism Financing

Samantha Marie Elhassani, aka Samantha Sally, 34, formerly of Elkhart, Indiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to a one-count Information charging her with concealment of terrorism financing in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339C.

“Elhassani admitted that she traveled overseas and pre-positioned over $30,000 in cash and gold, knowing that the funds would be used by her husband and brother-in-law to join and support ISIS in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.

“The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who support foreign terrorist organizations. I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this result.”

“Samantha Elhassani pled guilty to providing financial support to individuals who desired to support ISIS, a terrorist organization that has committed acts of violence against Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas L. 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. Yesterday’s guilty plea to federal terrorism charges reflects the seriousness of her criminal conduct. My office is committed to prosecuting those who provide support to terrorist organizations. ”

“The charges that the defendant in this case has plead guilty to are a reminder the FBI will never relent in ensuring that Americans who abandon their country to further the heinous goals of a designated terrorist organization like ISIS see justice for their betrayal”said Assistant Director Mike McGarrity. “I am proud of the work of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office on this case and grateful for the assistance of our many international and interagency partners.”

“Ms Elhassani knowingly engaged in the concealment of resources which were intended to support future ISIS fighters whose intent is to harm her fellow Americans and others, and her plea should serve as a strong reminder that these actions have serious consequences and will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall, FBI Indianapolis. “The defendant also exposed her young, impressionable children to an environment of hatred and violence with no regard to the harm she was causing them.

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 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.

In July of 2018, Elhassani was transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to U.S. law enforcement custody.

I would like to know how she hooked up in the first place with a Moroccan national who was apparently living in Indiana.  How was he here?  Legally? Illegally?  If anyone sees any news about that, send it my way.

And, again, come on over to RRW and see what you should be doing now to counter the refugee industry’s big push to get governors and mayors to go on record in support of more refugees!  (The governors who have already agreed are listed in the right hand sidebar—2 are Republicans!)

Nigerian Fraudster Indicted for Stealing Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Funds

The news of Olanrewaju A. Beyioku’s arrest in November was reported in local news and in one large news outlet—the Chicago Tribune.  The story in the suburbs section of the Tribune does not mention the ‘new American’ status of the “Indiana man” the feds indicted in December.
However, the Nigerians are not so shy about identifying him as Nigerian.  See LailasNews.com and don’t miss the comments where Nigerians say he brings shame to Nigeria.

nigerian defrauds red cross
Olanrewaju A. Beyioku

You have to hand it to them, Nigerians are clever scammers.
I’m posting a good bit of the Dept. of Justice press release from December 20th (hat tip: Diana) so you can see how the 38-year-old Beyioku was one of many who together scammed the American Red Cross out of more than a million dollars intended for Hurricane Harvey victims.
From the Department of Justice, Northern District of Indiana,

HAMMOND- Olanrewajua A. Beyioku, 38, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
U.S. Attorney Kirsch said, “At a time when individuals were going through some of the worst times in their lives, Mr. Beyioku seized the opportunity to enrich himself with hurricane relief funds meant for those who lost homes and businesses. My Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate those who defraud the government for personal gain.”
The Indictment alleges that, in September and October 2017, Beyioku, a.k.a. “Papa Smith Morgan,” working in conjunction with others, known and unknown to the United States Attorney, devised a scheme to defraud the American Red Cross (“Red Cross”) by obtaining reference codes intended for nine different households directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey, and by using those codes to obtain $3,600 in hurricane relief funds.
[….]
One type of federal disaster relief was a one-time cash payment of $400 through the Red Cross. The Red Cross established a link on their website where hurricane victims could apply for the cash assistance. Hurricane victims used their email addresses to apply. They entered personally identifiable information, including their address. If the address fell within a designated disaster area, The Red Cross forwarded the application electronically to an entity referred to herein as “Company A.”
Company A vetted the information, and electronically forwarded it to “Company B.” Company B then created an eleven-digit alphanumeric code. The code was then sent to the applicant with instructions to redeem the code at a Wal-Mart Money Center or Customer Service Desk.
In early September 2017, The Red Cross received reports of ineligible people redeeming multiple reference codes at various Wal-Mart stores across the United States. The Red Cross reported this to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”). With assistance from Wal-Mart Global Security Investigators, The Red Cross identified over 3,300 instances of fraudulently obtained reference codes. The loss to The Red Cross is more than 1.3 million dollars.
 

 
See the remainder of the press release by clicking here.  The feds don’t identify him as Nigerian either.
question mark

So why didn’t this story make the national news?  Because it is not a warm and fuzzy story about New Americans!  And, by the way, which LEGAL immigration program did Beyioku use to get in here in the first place?