A photo sent to one of the defendants by an FBI source shows the rocket-propelled grenades the three men had purchased. (U.S. Department of Justice)
A Navy veteran is among three men charged with attempting to supply the Islamic State group with $2,040 in cryptocurrency to fund an attack on American service members overseas.
Bareen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, Calif.; Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, Calif.; and Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kan., were arrested Friday on charges of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.
All three are U.S. citizens, according to federal authorities.
“Committed grand treason and literally got away with it,” Ghafoor allegedly told an FBI informant prior to his arrest, according to the criminal complaint.
Dzayee enlisted in the Navy in November 2021 and served as a seaman until July 2024, including an assignment to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John S. McCain, homeported at Everett, Wash. He received the National Defense Service Medal, which was awarded to all service members from Sept. 11, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2022, for taking part in the Global War on Terrorism. He also qualified as a Pistol Marksman.
The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court of Kansas. If found guilty on all counts, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison, up to life in supervised release and a fine and fees of up to $250,100.
Federal prosecutors say the three men contacted a person they believed was aligned with ISIS but was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.
The men said they wanted their funds to buy rocket-propelled grenades and drones for ISIS to use to attack U.S. Special Forces, especially Green Berets, federal prosecutors said. No specific target sites were mentioned in the criminal complaint.
Federal investigators say the three communicated with each other between February 2025 and June 2026, using telephone calls and the Discord chat app to plan how to support ISIS.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a Justice Department news release that the men were seeking to support a “ruthless terrorist organization” by funding the murder of American service members.
The complaint alleges that the defendants also discussed traveling outside the United States to fight on behalf of ISIS and, in some communications, expressed a willingness to die for the organization.
“Today’s arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks — anywhere,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
The investigation was conducted by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Kansas City, Mo.; San Diego; and Sacramento, Calif, with assistance from FBI field offices in Richmond, Va., and Newark, N.J.
In addition to funding the weapons attack by ISIS, Ghafoor allegedly expressed a desire to carry out a knife attack by beheading a female U.S. service member.
“I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans,” he was quoted as saying by the FBI.
Investigators say that Ghafoor wanted to have his name written on an RPG that would be fired at the American troops. The FBI provided a photograph to be sent to Ghafoor, which showed a grenade with his name alongside other explosives in the back of a white pickup.
