2 Minn. men accused of trying to go to Syria face fraud charges
Published 9:52 am Wednesday, May 20, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS — Two of seven Minnesota men accused of plotting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group face additional charges of financial aid fraud, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The indictment alleges Hamza Naj Ahmed, 21, and Hanad Mustafe Musse, 19, used federal financial aid to purchase plane tickets. Authorities said they were part of a group that took a bus from Minneapolis to New York last November, and were stopped at JFK Airport before they could travel overseas.
The two men are among seven already charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities have described the men as friends in Minnesota’s Somali community who recruited and inspired each other and met secretly to plan travel to Syria.