Two women who led an online group in raising money to support the Somali terror group Al Shabaab were on Tuesday convicted by a federal judge following a trial in US District Court in Virginia.
Muna Osman Jama, 36, and Hinda Osman Dhirane, 46, were found guilty of organising the "Group of Fifteen" women from 8 countries that helped finance Al Shabaab military operations and safehouses in Kenya and Somalia.
"National security is the top priority in this office and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who provide material support to terrorists," Boente said.
It was not clear who represented the two women in the proceedings.
Prosecutors said Dhirane and Jama sent the money they raised through chat room to financiers of al Shabaab in Kenya and Somalia, referred to as the "Nairobi side" and the "Hargesia side", respectively.
Jama, of Reston, Virginia, and Dhirane, of Kent, Washington, were arrested in July 2014, along with a 3rd woman, Farhia Hassan, who was taken into custody in the Netherlands.
The "Group of Fifteen" included women from Kenya, Somaia, Egypt, the Sweden, Netherlands, the UK and Canada according to evidence at trial.
The two will face a maximum of 15 years in prison.