Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari

Who is Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari?

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, also known as Michael Mixon, is a former bank underwriter and resident of Ardsley, New York, convicted in Manhattan federal court with terrorism financing and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. There were also charges against him for material support of terrorism, international money laundering, and conspiracy.

He has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to terrorism financing and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Specifically, the indictment accuses Alishtari of accepting an unspecified amount of money to transfer $152,000 to Pakistan and Afghanistan to provide night vision goggles, medical supplies, and other equipment to terrorist training camps. The international money laundering charge arises from the prosecution's allegation that Alishtari transferred $25,000 from a bank in New York to a bank in Montreal, with the intent that the funds be used to train and equip terrorists.

Prosecutors also allege that Alishtari defrauded investors of millions of dollars through a loan investment program he called the "Flat Electronic Data Interchange", which was ostensibly a scheme in which Alishtari promised a high, guaranteed return on their investments, but had no intention of delivering.