A U.S. District Judge sentenced Amera Akl of Ohio to over three years in prison after she and her husband had pleaded guilty in May to their involvement in a plot to ship money to a Mideast terrorist group.
Akl reportedly told the judge Wednesday that she knew that up to $1 million would be going to Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that the U.S. government lists as a terrorist organization.
Her attorney claims that she did not take part in the plot for political reasons, but was motivated by the money. Prosecutors say that she agreed to send the money overseas after an FBI informant had approached her with a fake agreement.
"Her real goal was to keep some, as much of the money that she could," said Sanford Schulman, her attorney.
She had agreed to a plea deal to avoid a possible 40-year sentence. Her husband Hor Akl, awaits sentencing, he faces up to seven years.
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