Toronto man who used COVID-relief money to help fund ISIS sentenced to 12 years
A Toronto man who financed ISIS using bitcoin, pandemic relief payments and money raised from bogus GoFundMe campaigns was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday.
The acts committed by Khalilullah Yousuf, 37, that occurred between 2019 and 2022, are 'exceptionally troubling,' Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly said.
Yousuf pleaded guilty to financing terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Although he did not plead guilty to a third offence, facts heard in court demonstrated that he facilitated terrorist activity, Kelly said.
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Court was told Yousuf redirected more than $35,000 he received from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — which provided financial support to Canadians directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic — and money collected from multiple GoFundMe campaigns purported to benefit charitable causes to individuals in the United States and overseas associated with ISIS.
He also created and disseminated pro-ISIS propaganda for the purpose of radicalizing and recruiting people to join or support the Islamic State. This included material that glorified mass killings, said federal prosecutor Martin Park reading from an agreed statement of facts.
Initially, Yousuf used MoneyGrams and Western Union to transfer cash, before switching to the cryptocurrency bitcoin because, he wrote to someone, it was the best way to move money without leaving a trail, Park said.
A note found on Yousuf's computer indicated he believed an Islamic caliphate is the only acceptable form of rule.
Not much is known about the defendant, the judge stated. He has the support of his family — one man was in the otherwise empty courtroom on Monday — and he has engaged in a program designed to address the factors that can lead to violent extremist activities.
Wearing a long black beard, dark grey hoodie and slacks, Yousuf declined to address the court Monday when asked if he had anything to say before the judge retired to consider his sentence. But he was polite and responsive when asked if he understood the significant implications of his guilty pleas.
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Crown and defence lawyers agreed he should receive a sentence of 12 years. Factoring in credit for time served, Yousuf has nine years and 105 days left. He has been in custody since December 2022.
Kelly said she believed 12 years is a fit sentence for such serious offences. But she noted that his pleas saved weeks of court time in a trial and prevented 'the further advancement of a platform' due to the public nature of such a proceeding.
'I do hope that the rehabilitation does work, Mr. Yousuf both for you personally and for the safety of our community,' Kelly told him.
She followed the recommendation that he serve half of his sentence before becoming eligible to apply for parole. Yousuf faces no immigration consequences because he is a Canadian citizen.
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