Man charged with funding terrorist group pleads guilty

A former Minnesota resident pleaded guilty Monday to raising money to send to terrorist groups in Somalia.

In a plea bargain announced in Minneapolis federal court, Ahmed Hussein Mahamud pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to the group al Shabaab. Mahamud was accused of raising as much as $1,500 to purchase plane tickets and provide other support to Minnesotans going to Somalia to fight with the terrorist group al Shabaab.

Mahamud and his co-conspirators told donors the money would support a local mosque or orphans in Somalia. On two other occasions, Mahamud sent money to an unnamed person fighting with al Shabaab in Somalia.

Prosecutors have charged 20 Minnesotans with providing support to al Shabaab. Mahamud is the seventh to plead guilty. He faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Mahamud's co-conspirators were not named, but the plea agreement indicates at least some them have also been charged.