Sussex County woman sentenced to 34 months in prison for concealing terrorist financing to Syrian foreign terrorist organizations
HOPATCONG BOROUGH, NJ (Sussex County) – A Sussex County woman was sentenced Tuesday to 34 months in prison for concealing her attempts to provide material support to Syrian foreign terrorist organizations, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
Maria Bell, aka “Maria Sue Bell,” 55, of Hopatcong previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to one count of concealing attempts to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations, Sellinger said.
According to documents previously filed in this case, Bell admitted that from February 2018 to November 2018 she knowingly concealed and disguised the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the attempted provision of material support and resources to fighters based in Syria who were members of Jabhat Fath al-sham, also known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Bell admitted that she knew JFS and HTS were designated foreign terrorist organizations, that JFS and HTS has engaged or engages in terrorist activities.
Bell admitted the offense to which she pleaded guilty involved the concealment of the attempted provision of funds or other material support or resources with the intent, knowledge, or reason to believe they were to be used to commit or assist in the commission of a violent act.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Bell to five years of supervised release.
