The defendants admitted that they knowingly raised funds to support the activities of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, or MEK, by collecting money from MEK supporters and soliciting money from unwitting donors at public locations, including LAX. Donors were told they were supporting a charity called the Committee for Human Rights. However, the Justice Department charged that CHR was simply a “front organization” for MEK fundraising operations in the United States. “We cannot allow any terrorist organization to fundraise on our shores . . . so that they can finance their own terrorism operations,” U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O’Brien said.
