United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew M. Luger and Special Agent in Charge for the Minneapolis Division of the FBI Richard T. Thornton today announced a criminal complaint charging MOHAMED AMIIN ALI ROBLE, 20, with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and providing material support to ISIL.
According to the complaint and documents filed in court, on October 4, 2014, ROBLE and his mother flew from Minneapolis to Beijing, China. From Beijing, ROBLE flew to Wuhan, in Hubei Province, China.
Approximately one-month later, four of ROBLE’s co-defendants attempted to travel from Minnesota to Syria to join ISIL, via New York’s JFK International Airport. The four co-defendants were stopped by federal law enforcement agents at JFK from flying from New York to various destinations in Europe.
According to the complaint and documents filed in court, during the same time period that his co-defendants made their attempt to travel through New York to Turkey, ROBLE made six cash withdrawals of approximately $1,000 each from an ATM in Wuhan, China. The withdrawals were made from an account containing funds ROBLE obtained from a monetary settlement he was awarded after suffering personal injuries in the I-35W bridge collapse of August 1, 2007.
According to the complaint and documents filed in court, in November 2014 ROBLE bought airfare and flew to Istanbul, Turkey. From Turkey, ROBLE called his mother and told her that he was in Turkey “shopping,” and that he needed an airline ticket back to China, which she purchased for him. ROBLE returned to China shortly thereafter.
On December 27, 2014, ROBLE again traveled to Istanbul. ROBLE did not return to China from this second trip to Turkey.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by members of the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The JTTF includes members from the following departments: the United States Marshals Service, Bloomington Police Department, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Air Marshals Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, Minneapolis Police Department, the Airport Police, IRS-CI, and the FBI.
Defendant Information:
MOHAMED AMIIN ALI ROBLE, 20
Minneapolis, Minn.
Charges:
• Conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, 1 count
• Providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, 1 count