New Yorker pleads guilty to recruiting for Islamic State group

NEW YORK: A New Yorker who was one of the first recruiters for the Islamic State group captured in the United States pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to provide material support to the extremists.

Mufid Elfgeeh, 31, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release, with the United States on alert for terror attacks after a mass shooting in California on December 2.



He used social media to spread Islamic State group propaganda, declare support for the militants and to seek financial contributions to donate to the extremists, as well as to attempt to recruit fighters.

Elfgeeh pleaded guilty "to attempting to provide material support and resources" to the Islamic State group, the United States Justice Department said in a statement.

"One of the first ISIL recruiters ever captured in this country stands convicted of terrorism-related charges," said US Attorney William Hochul, using an alternative acronym for the IS group.

Hochul urged the American public to "continue to report to law enforcement any suspicious individuals or activities and thereby hasten the demise of these killers."



Between December 2013 and May 31, 2014, Elfgeeh recruited and tried to send two individuals -- both of whom were cooperating with the FBI, to Syria to fight with the Islamic State group.

Elfgeeh is scheduled to be sentenced in March.