UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : : Plaintiff, : Civil Action No.: 20-2142 (RC) : v. : Re Document No.: 15 : FACEMASKCENTER.COM, et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT I. INTRODUCTION This action arises out of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into potential fraud surrounding the sale of personal protection equipment (“PPE”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff United States of America (“the Government”) seeks the forfeiture of one website, FaceMaskCenter.com, and four related Facebook pages (collectively, “Defendant Properties”) for their alleged involvement in the unlawful sale of PPE and the subsequent use of those proceeds to support and finance terrorism. No claimant to the assets has responded to the complaint, and the Clerk of the Court entered default on February 9, 2021. The Government now asks this Court to enter a default judgment against the Defendant Properties. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants this motion. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND This case involves the property of an alleged facilitator for a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”), Murat Cakar. Cakar has received money from individuals that later pled guilty to providing financial support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (“ISIS”). See Compl. ¶¶ 12–14, ECF No. 3. Additionally, a confidential source has identified Cakar as an ISIS facilitator responsible for managing select ISIS hacking operations. Id. ¶ 15. One such operation was the creation and upkeep of the Defendant Properties. Id. ¶¶ 15, 27–33. The Government alleges that the Defendant Properties are subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(G)(i). The Court will summarize the relevant law and briefly describe the alleged scheme. A. Statutory Framework Federal law makes “[a]ll assets, foreign or domestic[,] of any individual, entity, or organization engaged in planning or perpetrating any . . . Federal crime of terrorism” subject to forfeiture to the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(G)(i). Numerous offenses may qualify as a “Federal crime of terrorism” so long as they are “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct.” Id. § 2332b(g)(5). One such offense is “knowingly provid[ing] material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” See id. § 2339B(a)(1); see also id. § 2332b(g)(5)(B)(i). A “terrorist organization” for the purposes of that offense is any organization designated as such under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Id. § 2339B(g)(6). 1 This statutory scheme “empowers the government to seek the forfeiture of property outside the United States, which may have never touched the United States. The broad expanse of this language is for forfeiture actions to reach all property of terrorist organizations.” United States v. One Gold Ring with Carved Gemstone, No. 16-CV-2442, 2019 WL 5853493, at *1 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2019). 1 The Secretary of State has designated ISIS an FTO. Foreign Terrorist Organizations, U.S. Dep’t …
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