A Stockton man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS after federal investigators say he spent months trying to funnel cash, guns and ammunition to someone he believed was tied to the terrorist group. Ammaad Akhtar, 34, admitted in federal court to the charge, which prosecutors say stemmed from an undercover operation that ran from February through June of 2025.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Akhtar pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. When he was first charged in federal court in Sacramento last year, he was identified as 33 years old, according to The Sacramento Bee. Prosecutors say Akhtar began corresponding online that February with an FBI-controlled individual he believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State, the newspaper reported.
Per The Jerusalem Post, Akhtar discussed traveling overseas to fight alongside ISIS, acquiring firearms, attacking a man he suspected was an Israeli soldier, and building homemade explosives. The outlet reported that by May 2025 he had settled on plans to attack a populated event, though he had not yet chosen a specific target, and that he discussed infiltrating a gathering run by non-believers by dressing and posing as one of them.
A Meeting That Ended in Handcuffs
The case reached a turning point on June 23, 2025, when Akhtar met face-to-face with the undercover FBI agent he believed was affiliated with ISIS. At that meeting, he handed over clothing, binoculars, $400 in cash, two loaded guns and six additional magazines, and swore a loyalty pledge, according to the criminal complaint cited by the Los Angeles Times. Akhtar was taken into custody the following day, June 24.
Court documents reviewed by the Sacramento Bee state that Akhtar had also requested instructions for building a homemade explosive device “to make a boom” for use at a crowded event. The same report notes that prosecutors said his efforts to funnel funds, weapons and other equipment to ISIS spanned from February through June of 2025. The FBI-controlled persona at the center of the case was a fabricated identity maintained by agents strictly for investigative purposes, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Allegations of a Planned Attack
The Jerusalem Post, citing the criminal complaint, reported that Akhtar began discussing a plan in April 2025 to attack a man he believed was an Israeli soldier after spotting him near a synagogue on Saturdays. By April 3, the outlet reported, Akhtar had followed the man and considered killing him in a location where the attack would appear random, carrying a knife and a gun in case of a confrontation with what he called a non-believer. The complaint, per the Jerusalem Post, indicates the man he had targeted was not actually an Israeli soldier.
The Post also reported statements attributed to Akhtar in which he said he wished to join ISIS and prayed to find ways to destroy nonbelievers, and that on March 13, 2025, he said he disliked being around Muslims who would not form a group to attack infidels. Investigators determined Akhtar owned three firearms and a knife, according to the same reporting.
Sentencing Set for 2027
Akhtar faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to KCRA. His sentencing has been scheduled for February 26, 2027, the station reported. It remains unclear what sentence he will ultimately receive.
The case echoes other federal prosecutions targeting alleged ISIS-inspired plots in the United States. In a separate case highlighted by the Justice Department, 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud of Richfield, Minnesota, was charged by complaint with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition in order to commit a federal crime of terrorism, in connection with an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at the Mall of America.
