A researcher at GW’s Program on Extremism uncovered an FBI affidavit detailing how an ISIS official used fake eBay transactions to give money to a suspected operative in the United States.

The affidavit was discovered by researchers in the program on Aug. 10 and provided insight into how the notorious terror group uses a global financial network to support its followers. This was the first public case of ISIS sending money into the United States for use in potential plots, according to the program.

Mohamed Elshinawy, the suspect, was arrested in Maryland last year after he allegedly pretended to sell computer printers online to receive payments through PayPal from a senior ISIS official in Syria, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The allegations were not publicly known until a researcher in the Program on Extremism discovered the affidavit while doing routine research.

“The GW Program on Extremism regularly reviews public legal documents in order to study federal law enforcement activity and to provide analysis on issues related to violent and non-violent extremism,” Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the GW Program on Extremism, said in an email. “In this instance, researchers were looking for unmarked search warrants related to terrorism. As part of that, they identified the Elshinawy document.”

Elshinawy has pleaded not guilty to charges of supporting ISIS and is awaiting trial in federal court, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The recently unsealed affidavit reveals a larger network of similarly funded operations by the Islamic State. Similar schemes have been found in countries like Bangladesh and Britain, according to the report.

Both eBay and PayPal have released statements denouncing criminal behavior on their websites and offering full cooperation with law enforcement.

“We proactively report suspicious activities and respond quickly to lawful requests to support law enforcement agencies in their investigations,” a spokeswoman for Paypal told the Journal.