Former Elkhart woman pleads guilty to smuggling cash and gold to help ISIS

Show Caption Hide Caption Why Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi death doesn't signal the end of ISIS At its peak, ISIS controlled over 100,000 square kilometers of territory and ruled over 11 million people. Today it has no land to claim.

A former Indiana woman who is the widow of an ISIS fighter has pleaded guilty to providing support to the Islamic State group.

Samantha Marie Elhassani, 34, previously of Elkhart, entered her guilty plea Monday on one count of concealment of terrorism financing. Her plea deal will allow her to avoid more severe conspiracy charges and a jury trial previously scheduled for early next year, according to federal court records.

Elhassani, also known as Samantha Sally, was originally charged in August 2018 with conspiracy to provide material support for ISIS. She also was charged with aiding and abetting individuals in providing material support to ISIS.

Elhassani's sentencing is scheduled for March 5.

“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,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said in a statement. “The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who support foreign terrorist organizations."

Her federal indictment relates to criminal activity conducted between fall 2014 and summer of 2015. A Department of Justice news release said Elhassani traveled abroad during that time in support of ISIS with full knowledge of the group's terrorist activity.

In November 2014, Elhassani was informed by her husband that he and his brother wanted to travel to Syria to join ISIS, officials said. Between November 2014 and April 2015, 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.

Officials said 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 interested in joining ISIS and that they intended to use these resources to support ISIS.

Before her indictment, Elhassani told the BBC and PBS that during a 2015 vacation in Turkey, her husband tricked her into traveling with their children to Syria, where he became an IS militant and died fighting.

In July 2018, Elhassani and her children ended up in a Kurdish detention camp and were transferred to U.S. custody by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The couple’s four young children were placed in the custody of Indiana’s child welfare services following her arrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.