Three men from New Jersey and Washington pleaded guilty in federal court this summer to charges tied to providing material support to ISIS, admitting plans to travel overseas to join the group and taking steps to conceal funding and travel arrangements; arrests, court dates, and potential sentences are now scheduled as investigators and prosecutors from multiple agencies completed their inquiries.
Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, 19, and Milo Sedarat, 21, both from Montclair, New Jersey, entered guilty pleas in late July 2026 in Newark federal court before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden. Saed Ali Mirreh, 20, of Kent, Washington, pleaded guilty earlier on July 22, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones in Seattle. Each defendant admitted to actions tied to supporting a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Jimenez-Guzel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and Mirreh pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy count after consenting to transfer his case for purposes of plea. Sedarat pleaded guilty to concealing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, acknowledging steps he took to hide the funding he provided. Those are the core offenses prosecutors brought in each case.
“Any individual supporting ISIS or other terrorist organizations, regardless of whether it involves organizing an attack, planning to travel overseas, or funding others to join ISIS will be investigated swiftly and prosecuted. Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh planned to travel abroad to actively fight with ISIS, and Sedarat surreptitiously provided funding for those plans. This Office is committed to disrupting foreign terrorist organizations, preventing ISIS-inspired terrorism, and holding accountable those individuals who support terrorist organizations.”- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer
Court records show the plot unfolded across encrypted messaging apps between July 24, 2025 and November 4, 2025, when co-conspirators agreed to travel to Turkey in November 2025 and then onward to Sham, the historical term for greater Syria, to join ISIS. The records describe coordinated plans to depart from airports in the U.S. and to use Turkey as a staging point for travel into territory controlled by the organization. Those communications and travel bookings became central evidence in the investigations and subsequent prosecutions.
“These men actively plotted and planned to go overseas to fight with ISIS, one of the worst terrorist organizations responsible for unspeakable violence all over the world. FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners thwarted their plans and stopped Jimenez-Guzel as he arrived at the airport. Regardless of the intent to either fight overseas or plot an attack on our soil – we will tenaciously investigate and arrest anyone supporting and conspiring with terrorists,” said Stefanie Roddy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark.
The factual account in filings describes a cash transfer on October 18, 2025, when Sedarat met with Jimenez-Guzel and provided $500 in cash to help buy a plane ticket for Mirreh. Sedarat instructed Jimenez-Guzel not to bring a cell phone to that meeting and used physical cash rather than electronic means in an apparent effort to avoid detection. Jimenez-Guzel then wired or transferred $500 to Mirreh on October 26, 2025, according to the records.
Travel bookings show Jimenez-Guzel purchased a ticket on October 27, 2025 to depart Newark Liberty International Airport for Istanbul on November 17, 2025, while Mirreh bought a ticket on October 28, 2025 to leave Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for Istanbul on November 16, 2025. After arrests of other alleged co-conspirators in Dearborn, Michigan on October 31, the group accelerated their plans and rebooked earlier departures. Jimenez-Guzel rebooked to leave on November 5, 2025, and Mirreh booked an additional flight for November 5 as well.
Law enforcement acted quickly on November 4, 2025, arresting Jimenez-Guzel as he arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport, and later that evening taking Mirreh into custody at his home in Washington. Those arrests followed the chain of communications, travel bookings, and the intercepted or observed cash transfers that linked the three men to a concerted effort to join a designated terrorist organization. The charges and pleas reflect the culmination of that investigative work.
The charge of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a possible life term of supervised release. The concealment count to which Sedarat pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a possible life term of supervised release. Sentencing hearings are set for Mirreh on October 16, 2026, Sedarat on December 2, 2026, and Jimenez-Guzel on December 3, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited Special Agents and Joint Terrorism Task Force Officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark and Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington in Seattle. Local police partners credited include officers of the New York Police Department under Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, the Montclair Police Department under Chief Todd M. Conforti, and the Rowan University Police Department under Chief Rachel Baum. These agencies worked together across jurisdictions to interrupt the conspiracy before any travel could succeed.
The government’s cases were handled by prosecutors from the National Security Units and the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camila A. Garces led the representation in Newark with assistance from Todd Greenberg in Seattle for the Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh matters, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey S. Smith handled the case against Sedarat. Trial Attorneys John Cella, Patrick Cashman, and James Donnelly of the DOJ’s Counterterrorism Section provided substantial assistance in all three cases.
