Great Lakes Wire

Jibreel Pratt, a 26-year-old Detroit resident, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to concealing cryptocurrency donations intended for the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), a group classified as a foreign terrorist organization. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., alongside Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.

Court records indicate that Pratt began communicating with a confidential human source in February 2023. Believing this individual to be an ISIS member capable of facilitating overseas travel, Pratt expressed his intention to join ISIS abroad and recorded a video pledging allegiance to the group’s leader. Over several months, he provided ideas and documents on various topics such as using drones and remote-controlled cars for explosives delivery, organizing intelligence operations, and improving air defense systems for ISIS.

In March and May 2023, Pratt sent Bitcoin to the confidential source. He believed these funds would help pay for other individuals’ travel to join ISIS or support acts of violence on behalf of the organization. To conceal these transactions, Pratt used privacy tools including a VPN and an app that encrypted transaction data.

“Over these last years, our office has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the FBI to protect Americans from hardened ISIS supporters in our midst. Mr. Pratt is the latest traitor who—in his own words—operated ‘in the shadows.’ And we will continue to stand guard because he may not be the last,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.

“Today’s sentencing of Jibreel Pratt is a testament to the hard work of FBI Detroit’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in keeping Michigan safe from homegrown violent extremists,” stated Jennifer Runyan. “It should send a strong message to anyone seeking to support foreign terrorist organizations, via financial means or otherwise, that the FBI will not stand idly by and allow this activity to occur within the United States. FBI Detroit remains committed to protecting the American people and will work relentlessly to disrupt any plot that threatens the security of our nation.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Douglas Salzenstein and Jennifer Burke from the National Security Division at the Department of Justice prosecuted it.