Manhattan Woman Convicted of Using Crypto to Fund Terror Groups in Syria
A Manhattan jury on Thursday found an Upper East Side woman guilty of financing terrorism after she used cryptocurrency to send financial support to several groups operating in Syria.
The woman, Victoria Jacobs, 44, was accused last year by the Manhattan district attorney's office of providing more than $5,000 to Malhama Tactical, a military contractor who was called “the black water of jihad.” The group fought alongside Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group designated as a terrorist organization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The sentencing comes amid a debate between cryptocurrency advocates, who see the technology as an alternative to regulated finance, and skeptics who have pointed to its frequent use in fraud and other crimes. Federal judges are considering lawsuits by the nation's top securities regulator against some of the largest companies in the cryptocurrency industry that could limit the technology's use in this country.
The trial of Ms. Jacobs began on January 16 and lasted approximately two weeks. The jury found her guilty of three offenses of providing support for an act of terrorism, as well as conspiracy, money laundering and criminal possession of weapons. She faces a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 3.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg has said this case marks the first time terrorist financing has been prosecuted by the New York State Supreme Court. The conviction is a remarkable victory for Mr. Bragg, coming a month before he is set to begin the biggest trial of his career, that of former President Donald J. Trump.
“We will not allow Manhattan to serve as a base for terrorism at home or abroad,” Bragg said in a statement, praising his prosecutors for winning the first case of its kind.
Lawyers for Ms. Jacobs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Ms. Jacobs laundered more than $10,600 for Malhama Tactical, receiving money from supporters around the world and sending it to Bitcoin wallets controlled by the group. Prosecutors said she identified herself in online forums in 2021 as “behind enemy lines.”
On the day before the verdict was handed down, Ms. Jacobs was an enigmatic presence in the courtroom, which seemed to annoy the judge, Althea Drysdale. When Ms. Jacobs refused to answer questions directly — including giving a yes-or-no answer to whether she wanted to testify on her own behalf — Judge Drysdale slapped the bench in frustration.
“Ms. Jacobs, I am not going down this road with you,” the judge said.
Shortly afterwards, Ms. Jacobs said she did not want to testify.
Closing arguments followed, with the head of the district attorney's counter-terrorism unit, David Stuart, saying Ms. Jacobs had acted as a “double agent.” He noted that she had purchased throwing stars, combat knives and other weaponry and that she had requested guidance from abroad as she carried out the jihadist mission on her own.
“From here in New York City, the defendant used HTS and Malhama Tactical to carry out her dreams of jihad and shared their terrorist intentions,” Mr. Stuart said, referring to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. “And they, in turn, used the defendant to gain access to New York's financial markets, allowing them to carry out their terrorist acts in Syria.”
A lawyer for Ms. Jacobs, Michael Fineman, begged the jury to acquit, arguing that “one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter — it's all a matter of perspective.” He noted that the British probably considered George Washington a terrorist in 1776.
He also claimed that the groups to which Ms Jacobs allegedly sent money were not known to the jury, unlike ISIS or Al Qaeda.
But those arguments do not appear to have reached a jury, which was only about a mile from the scene of the September 11 attacks. In the lobby of the courthouse itself, a wall-length mural begs visitors to remember that date. When jurors were dismissed to deliberate Thursday, it took just over three hours to reach convictions on all counts.