Suburban man admitted to trafficking fentanyl, attempting to give money to ISIS soldier

LOMBARD, Ill. - A Lombard man admitted in federal court Wednesday that he trafficked fentanyl and other drugs as well as attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Jason Brown, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide support to ISIS, one count of distributing fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to a plea agreement, Brown said that he trafficked fentanyl from California to the Chicago suburbs and illegally possessed several loaded handguns in 2019. 

He also admitted that on three occasions in 2019, he provided $500 in cash to an individual with the understanding that the money would be wired to an ISIS soldier engaged in terrorist activity in Syria. However, the individual to whom he provided the money was confidentially working with law enforcement and the purported ISIS fighter was an undercover law enforcement officer. 

The firearm charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of life, the drug charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 40 years and the terrorism charge is punishable by a maximum of 20 years. 

Brown has been in law enforcement custody since he was arrested in 2019 and his sentencing date is scheduled for May 28.