NEWARK, N.J. – A 53-year-old Hopatcong, New Jersey woman was arrested on Wednesday and stands accused according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, of “concealing sending money to a Syrian foreign terrorist organization”
The accused (Maria Bell) faces one count of “Concealment of Terrorist Financing to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” specifically the al-Nusra Front (“ANF”) a/k/a Hay’at Tahrir al- Sham (“HTS”).
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The details from the complaint read like something from a movie:
“Beginning at least as early as February of 2017, Bell, operating in and around Hopatcong, New Jersey, used mobile applications, including but not limited to Encrypted Applications and Social Media, to communicate with and provide advice to HTS members and to facilitate money transfers to HTS. Bell also used the Encrypted Applications to provide other information which could support acts of terrorism by HTS. For example, Bell provided guidance to HTS members on matters of operational security, communications, firearms purchases, and other information, often citing her professional experience, including her specialized military training on guns while in active duty in the United States Army, as well her background in the Army National Guard.”
Federal prosecutors zeroed in on alleged conversations between Bell and “User 1”; on one occasion, prosecutors say Bell explicitely pledged her fealty to the terrorist cause
Bell: Are you ready to fight in front line with other fighters? You are no longer young child like you used to be.
Bell: It will be frightening. But I am with you.
Bell also allegedly sent at least 18 payments (totaling $3,150) to terrorist accounts and expressed concerns about being tracked:
Bell: But I will not have my account watched more closely than it is already.
Bell: Each time I withdraw money, it is noted because Western Union is trying to track fraud and terrorists for the government.
The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
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