Sharia

Feds Bust Alleged Sharia Ponzi Scheme In Chicago

Rachel Slajda | November 19, 2010, 8:40AM

Three men have been indicted for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme and stealing $43 million from investors who thought they were putting their money in a Sharia-compliant investment strategy.

According to federal officials, the men ran a firm called Sunrise Equities and told Pakistani-American investors and banks in Chicago that their money would go exclusively into real estate development. Earning interest is prohibited under Sharia, or Islamic law, and observant Muslims cannot invest in financial products that earn interest.

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Illinois

Man Who Sent Threat To IL Mosque Sentenced To Year In Prison

Rachel Slajda | November 4, 2010, 3:57PM

The Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center

A 25-year-old Maryland man was sentenced to one year in prison yesterday after sending email threats to an Illinois mosque, demanding that the mosque close or else he would "eradicate Islam."

The man, Ilya Sobolevskiy, pleaded guilty in August to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, a civil rights violation. He was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Illinois to 12 months in prison and a $3,000 fine.

The judge who sentenced him called the threats "an act of terror."

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