Mansuri Manuchekhri
Credit: Department of Justice
An illegal immigrant living in New York City, who flaunted AK-47s in a picture, was busted for supporting ISIS after his ex-wife ratted him out for marrying a Bronx stripper in his failed attempt to get a green card.
As per the United States Attorney's Office, between December 2021 and April 2023, Tajikstan-born truck driver Mansuri Manuchekhri who was living in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay sent $70,000 to “ISIS-affiliated individuals” in Turkey and Syria as he allegedly believed that the money was used by families of ISIS fighters who had died.
Meanwhile, he also flaunted his firearms prowess to his friends who were also terrorist sympathisers and frequently visited shooting ranges for practice.
“Thank God, I am ready, brother," he had said in a video sent to one of his ISIS-affiliated individuals in Turkey.
The Feds also found a photo of Manuchekhri where he was seen posing with two AK-47 rifles pointed at the sky.
As per New York Post, in a "sham marriage," Manuchekhri tied the knot with a Bronx stripper in March 2017 after he entered the United States from Tajikistan in June 2016. He stayed in the country despite the expiration of his non-immigrant tourist visa in December. However, he did not get legal status in the country owing to his inability to provide certain supporting documents.
However, he was busted when his former wife snitched on him and informed the New York State Terror Tip Hotline that he might commit "acts of violence” as she went on to reveal his attempt at getting a green card.
As per the publication, the text messages between him and the stripper revealed that she refused to sign divorce papers until she got "2000 out front".
However, after he did not fulfill his promise of paying her, she refused to file for divorce and changed her number.
“Since you’ve been completely ignoring me IM NOT FILING FOR NO DIVORCE your just gonna be stuck since you want to keep playing me like i’m stupid!!! Changing my number don’t look for me!!!!” she reportedly wrote in her text message.
He was arrested without bail on Wednesday after his text messages to ISIS-affiliated contacts were taken as evidence that he may take violent action on his own or might want to pursue the goals of ISIS. Manuchekhri faces a maximum sentence of 45 years’ imprisonment, if convicted.
Meanwhile, his lawyer argued that there was no proof of him being a terrorist even though he had the knowledge where the money he sent overseas was going.