Manhattan DA Announces 18-Year Sentence for Woman Convicted In Crypto-Based Terrorist Fundraising Scheme

On April 30, 44-year old Victoria Jacobs was sentenced to 18-years in New York State prison for using cryptocurrency to provide support to violent terrorist groups operating in Syria. On February 1, 2024, Jacobs was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury on all of the counts in the indictment against her, including Soliciting or Providing Support for an Act of Terrorism, Money Laundering, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

At trial, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, working with New York Police Department’s Intelligence Bureau, successfully proved that among other things, Jacobs was sending cryptocurrency to known terrorist groups like Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its affiliates such as Malhama Tactical. TRM has been closely tracking both fundraising campaigns as shown in the graph visualizer below.

In announcing the sentencing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg. Jr. specifically called out the cryptocurrency expertise within the NYPD and the DA’s Counterterrorism Unit explaining, “Victoria Jacobs was fully immersed in online terrorist ecosystems, raising and laundering thousands of dollars and procuring bomb-making instructions and illegal knives for Syrian terrorist groups,” said District Attorney Bragg. “From the safety of her Manhattan apartment, she enabled these groups to access our city’s financial markets in order to help further their mission. Thanks to the dedication and pioneering cryptocurrency expertise of my Office’s dedicated Counterterrorism Unit and our partners in the NYPD, Victoria Jacobs has been held accountable for her actions and will serve 18 years in prison.” 

The investigation and sentence represent the tireless work of the Manhattan DA’s Office and NYPD. Law enforcement agencies around the world are leveraging blockchain intelligence to, not only disrupt terrorist networks, but to arrest and convict terrorist financiers in court. TRM is proud to support these efforts.