Missouri man admits he sent money to Iraq

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A former fundraiser for a Missouri-based Islamic charity pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally transferring money to Iraq, in violation of federal sanctions.

Ahmad Mustafa, 55, of Columbia, was one of six people charged in a January 2008 federal indictment, said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt J. Whitworth in a news release. No sentencing date has been set.

The indictment alleged that Mustafa and his co-defendants committed various crimes, including money laundering, theft of public money, impairing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service and prohibited transactions with a specially designated global terrorist.

Mustafa worked as a fundraiser for the now-closed Islamic American Relief Agency, headquartered in Columbia, Mo. Prosecutors had alleged that he and others transferred $1.4 million to Iraq from March 1991 to May 2003 -- when Iraq was under various U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Prosecutors say he focused his efforts on fundraising while the other defendants sent the money to Iraq "with the help of a Jordanian identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist."

Federal agents raided the group's headquarters in 2004 as part of a criminal investigation.

Mustafa, through his plea, said he didn't know the organization lacked permission to do business in Iraq. The U.S. agreed his criminal offense is limited to the money sent to his family.

"Today's conviction underscores the commitment by the Department of Justice to uphold economic sanctions imposed in accordance with the president's emergency powers," Whitworth said in the release.

Troy K. Stabenow, the attorney listed in court records as representing Mustafa, did not immediately return phone or e-mail messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Mustafa faces up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of up to $250,000.