Montclair Man Tried To Join ISIS, Pleads Guilty Along With 2 Conspirators: Feds

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Two Montclair residents and an out-of-state accomplice have pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges after they allegedly conspired to aid ISIS, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, 19, and Milo Sedarat, 21, both of Montclair, entered their pleas earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Jimenez-Guzel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Sedarat pleaded guilty to concealment of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Another person linked to the plot – Saed Ali Mirreh, 20, of Kent, Washington – also pleaded guilty this week. He was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Here’s what happened, federal prosecutors alleged:

MONEY TRANSFER – “From July 24, 2025 to November 4, 2025, through communications on encrypted messaging applications, Jimenez-Guzel, Mirreh, and other co-conspirators agreed to travel to Turkey in November 2025. They also agreed with other co-conspirators to travel from Turkey to ‘sham,’ which is an Arabic term for the historical region of greater Syria, to join ISIS as fighters. On October 18, 2025, Sedarat met with Jimenez-Guzel and provided him $500 in cash to assist with buying a plane ticket for Mirreh to travel to join ISIS as part of the conspiracy. Sedarat took steps to conceal that monetary transfer from law enforcement by instructing Jimenez-Guzel to not take his cell phone to the meeting where the money was exchanged and by deliberately using cash instead of other electronic money transfers. On October 26, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel then transferred $500 to Mirreh.”

PLANE TICKETS – “On October 27, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel purchased a plane ticket to depart from Newark Liberty International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey on November 17, 2025. On October 28, 2025, Mirreh purchased a ticket to depart from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Istanbul, Turkey on November 16, 2025. After other individuals in Dearborn, Michigan, with whom Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh were communicating were arrested on October 31, 2025, and charged with offenses related to those individuals’ plot to carry out a violent attack on behalf of ISIS, Jimenez-Guzel, Mirreh, and their co-conspirators accelerated their travel plans.”

ARREST – “On November 3, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel re-booked his flight to Turkey to leave instead on November 5, 2025 (in the early morning hours, shortly after midnight on November 4, 2025). Then, on November 4, 2025, after communicating with Jimenez-Guzel and other co-conspirators, Mirreh booked an additional flight to Turkey to depart on November 5, 2025. On November 4, 2025, Jimenez-Guzel was arrested after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport, and Mirreh was arrested later that evening at his home in Washington.”

The count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization to which Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of life of supervised release, prosecutors said.

The charge of concealing material support to which Sedarat pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of life of supervised release, prosecutors said.

Mirreh’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16, Sedarat’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2. Jimenez-Guzel’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3.

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