MICHIGAN — Fatten Fathy Elkomy was mentioned 14 times in court exhibits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in May 2010 during the prosecution of the Islamic American/African Relief Agency (IARA). The references related to eight wire transfers, five recorded phone calls, and a transfer request of $24,607.34 to IARA’s Iraq office, though she was not charged in the case.

Elkomy worked for IARA from 1999 to 2004. Neither she nor Mohamed Elkomy were charged or indicted as co-conspirators in the case against the organization. No individuals associated with IARA were charged with terrorism.

The legal proceedings followed a 33-count indictment the U.S. Department of Justice filed against IARA-US in March 2007 for illegally transferring funds to Iraq. IARA pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate financial sanctions by sending money to Iraq. Evidence in USA v IARA included 945 exhibits detailing phone calls, faxes, wire transfers, tax forms, emails, and bank statements.

Elkomy is the birth mother of Abdul El-Sayed. She remarried and returned to the Middle East when El-Sayed was young. Since July 2013, Elkomy has worked as a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for Missouri Behavioral Health Services.

Why It Matters

The case illustrates the scope of federal enforcement against organizations accused of violating financial sanctions. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated IARA as a terrorist financing entity on October 13, 2004. The department stated that IARA engaged in a joint program with an institute providing assistance to Taliban fighters. It also stated that IARA moved funds to the Palestinian territories for use in terrorist activities and served as a conduit to Hamas in one Western European country.

The Treasury further stated that IARA was tied to Maktab Al-Khidamat, an organization co-founded and financed by Osama Bin Laden. According to the department, international offices of IARA provided direct financial support for Osama Bin Laden. A former Bin Laden lieutenant served as the director of IARA's operations in Afghanistan, the Treasury stated. These designations preceded the criminal indictment and the subsequent plea agreement.

Timeline

In 2004, Fatten Fathy Elkomy denied any connections between IARA and terrorists in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I’ve been working there serving orphans and children with at least one deceased parent, and it breaks my heart they’re not going to get any help," she said. On October 13, 2004, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated IARA as a terrorist financing entity.

It stated that international offices of IARA provided direct financial support for Osama Bin Laden. The department stated that a former Bin Laden lieutenant served as the director of IARA's operations in Afghanistan.

How Sources Differ

Court filings from May 2010 indicate that mentions of Fatten Fathy Elkomy in exhibits related to eight wire transfers, five recorded phone calls, and a transfer request of $24,607.34 to IARA's Iraq office. Other sources state that Fatten Fathy Elkomy worked for the Islamic American/African Relief Agency (IARA) from 1999 to 2004.

The May 2010 court filing links Elkomy to specific financial transactions and communications. In a 2004 interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fatten Fathy Elkomy denied any connections between IARA and terrorists.

The court exhibits detail the financial interactions involving Elkomy. Records from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri show that neither Fatten Fathy Elkomy nor Mohamed Elkomy were charged or indicted as co-conspirators in the case against IARA.