Beck Diefenbach
A top official in the Islamic State terror group used eBay to send money for “operational purposes” to an alleged operative living in the U.S. A recently unsealed FBI affidavit says Mohamed Elshinawy, an American citizen, set up fake eBay transactions involving computer printers to receive the money through PayPal, The Wall Street Journal reports. Elshinawy, who is in federal custody, told investigators he knew the money was meant to finance an attack but he never intended to do so. Individuals suspected of using the same scheme in Britain and Bangladesh were also arrested, according to the affidavit. Elshinawy allegedly received $8,700 from people affiliated with ISIS, including several payments from Siful Sujan, a high-ranking ISIS official in Syria whose British tech company was at the center of the operation. A spokesman for eBay said the company is cooperating with investigators, and PayPal said it “responds quickly to lawful requests to support law-enforcement agencies in their investigations.”