United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger and FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Minneapolis Division Richard T. Thornton today announced a superseding indictment charging seven Minnesota men with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ¹ An indictment filed on February 19, 2015, charging HAMZA NAJ AHMED, 21, has been superseded to add ZACHARIA YUSUF ABDURAHMAN, 19; ADNAN FARAH, 19; HANAD MUSTAFE MUSSE, 19; GULED ALI OMAR, 20; ABDIRAHMAN YASIN DAUD, 21; and MOHAMED ABDIHAMID FARAH, 21.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, for at least the last ten months, the Minneapolis Division of the FBI has been conducting an investigation into a group of individuals who have tried to join—and in some cases succeeded in joining—overseas designated foreign terrorist organizations. At least nine Minnesotans have now been charged as part of this conspiracy to provide material support to ISIL. The men are all associates and friends of one another. Among the co-conspirators are ABDULLAHI YUSUF and ABDI NUR, both of whom were originally charged by criminal complaint in November 2014.

The superseding indictment adds ABDURAHMAN, MUSSE, OMAR, DAUD, A. FARAH, and M. FARAH to the February 19, 2015, indictment charging AHMED with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The superseding indictment also adds charges of attempt to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization against OMAR, M. FARAH, ABDURAHMAN, MUSSE and DAUD.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, M. FARAH is further charged with making a false statement during a terrorism investigation, because he lied to FBI agents about the circumstances surrounding his November 2014 bus trip to JFK Airport and subsequent scheduled departure to Europe.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, AHMED and MUSSE are also charged with financial aid fraud. On November 8, 2014, both AHMED and MUSSE withdrew more than $1,000 in federal financial aid funds to purchase international airplane tickets from New York’s JFK Airport to destinations in Europe.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Defendant Information:

HAMZA NAJ AHMED, 21, Savage, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count
• False statement, 1 count
• Financial aid fraud, 1 count

MOHAMED ABDIHAMID FARAH, 21, Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 2 counts
• False statement, 1 count

HANAD MUSTAFE MUSSE, 19, Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count
• Financial aid fraud, 1 count

GULED ALI OMAR, 20, Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count

ZACHARIA YUSUF ABDURAHMAN, 19, Columbia Heights, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count

ABDIRAHMAN YASIN DAUD, 21, Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count
• Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count

ADNAN FARAH, 19, Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), 1 count

¹ The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.