Santa Ana, California – An Orange County man who admitted that he attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and making a false statement in a passport application was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison.
- Adam Dandach, 22, of Orange, was sentenced on the morning of July 25 by United States District Judge James V. Selna
- After he completes his 180-month prison term, Dandach he remains on supervised release for the remainder of his life
- When he pleaded guilty in August 2015, Dandach admitted that he attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIL with the purpose of providing material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization
- He further admitted that he knew that ISIL was a designated foreign terrorist organization that engaged in terrorist activity and terrorism
“Terrorist organizations that reach into our nation via social media and other online recruiting efforts continue to pose a grave threat to our national security,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “I commend the excellent work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in this case, which discovered Dandach’s plan and prevented an American from becoming a fighter for the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization.”
- According to court documents, on July 1, 2014, Dandach purchased a ticket to fly from Orange County to Istanbul
- The FBI intercepted Dandach at the John Wayne International Airport the following day where Dandach told FBI special agents that his ultimate destination was Syria and that he intended to pledge allegiance to ISIL’s leader
- He explained that he wished to live under the control of ISIL and intended to undergo weapons training
- According to the government’s sentencing brief, Dandach “had been planning for over a year to join ISIL, a murderous terrorist organization that he knew committed horrifically violent acts”
- The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Celeste Corlett and Annamartine Salick of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section & was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Orange County
