United States v. Yusuf (Criminal Docket #: 3:10-cr-04551)
Case Description:
Nima Yousef originally came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia. While living in Minneapolis, MN, she became friends with a group of young men who later chose to go to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab. These young men, known as “the Lost Boys,” became notorious when two of them participated in suicide bombing attacks against government and UN forces. While they were in Somalia, Ms. Yousef remained in contact with them, and after one had died, decided to send money to the remaining boys to pay his debts so that he could enter heaven. Based on payments of less than $2,000 total, the government charged Ms. Yousef with material support of Al-Shabaab and sought a 20-year sentence. Ms. Yousef had three counts in total:
- Count One: Violation of 18 U.S.C. 2339A(a): Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Terrorists
- Count Two: Violation of 18 U.S.C. 2339B(a)(1): Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization
- Count Three: Violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001: False Statement to Government Agency.
OUTCOME
Ms. Yousef pled guilty to Count 2 in exchange for the government dismissing Count 1 and Count Three. The court after reviewing the facts agreed to accept Ms. Yousef’s plea determining that payment of a debt under the fungible theory constituted material support. The court however disagreed with the government that the terrorism enhancement applied to the crime because they believed that the funds were not intended to support violence but pay past debts and the violent deaths could not be attributed to the intent of the crime. The court further found that even if the terrorism enhancement applied, it was not helpful because it was irrational under the circumstances. The court ultimately gave Ms. Yousef a sentence of 8-years followed by three years of supervised release, rather than the 20-years suggested by the guidelines.
