Several of the campaigns that came under scrutiny by federal authorities were detailed last year by The New York Times. As part of one of the investigations, officials said, the government took control of a website used for soliciting terrorist funds and operated it for 30 days, compiling information about the accounts making the donations and collecting the funds the donors believed they were sending to a militant group. Investigations into the identities of the donors continue, they said. The government also announced that it had taken control of four website addresses like Facemaskcenter.com and four Facebook pages that officials described as part of a scheme by a Turkish man they accused of being an ISIS facilitator, Murat Cakar. Officials said he tried to raise money for ISIS by fraudulently claiming he had large amounts of personal protective equipment, like N95 masks, to sell amid the shortage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: New York Times August 13, 2020 17:03 UTC