According to the US Department of Justice, ISIS created a fraudulent site claiming to sell PPE in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent protective equipment shortages. Today, the Justice Department released a series of civil and criminal complaints that detail the site’s operations. The Justice Department released information claiming that it seized hundreds of bitcoin and ethereum accounts, millions of dollars, and four websites known to be run by Islamic extremist groups to fund terrorist operations.
Prosecutors allege that the forfeited crypto assets from the groups represent the government’s largest seizure of cryptocurrency in the terrorism context, with the cryptocurrency haul alone totaling over $1 million. The seized assets belonged to ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the al-Qassam Brigades, according to prosecutors. However, one fundraising effort that capitalizes on the global pandemic was of particular interest to the DOJ. Released court documents explain how ISIS operated a scam PPE website known as FaceMaskCenter .com.
Read More: ISIS Allegedly Ran a Covid-19 PPE Scam Site
