TOLEDO, Ohio, June 23 (UPI) -- An Ohio mother of three was sentenced to more than three years in prison for attempting to ship money to a Mideast terrorist group.
Amera Akl, 38, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 months in prison for working with her husband, Hor Akl, in a plot to conceal about $200,000 in an SUV they planned to ship to Lebanon, the Toledo Blade reported.
Federal prosecutors said the couple intended to eventually send as much as $1 million to Hezbollah, the Lebanese group listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization and blamed for numerous attacks on Israel.
U.S. District Judge James Carr said the punishment was neither the maximum nor the minimum that she could have gotten for the crimes, but one that "adequately reflects her role ... in this case."
The Akls, who hold dual U.S.-Lebanese citizenship, both pleaded guilty May 23 to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
Hor Akl, 38, also pleaded guilty to money laundering, bankruptcy fraud, and perjury charges and could face more than seven years in prison.
A date for his sentencing has not been set.
