A former Minnesota woman who lied to a grand jury about raising money for men who left the state to join a terrorist group in Somalia was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation and ordered to perform community service.

"I wish I could go back and change it all if I could," Saynab Hussein, 24, told U.S. District Judge Michael Davis in federal court in Minneapolis.

Hussein pleaded guilty last year to one count of perjury in connection with the investigation into recruiting and financing for Al-Shabab, a terrorist group with links to Al-Qaida.

Davis ordered Hussein to perform 100 hours of community service each year she's on probation — educating the Somali community about the threat of terrorism and the U.S. government's role in helping stabilize the community.

"This is extremely important," Davis said.

Since late 2007, at least 22 young men have left Minnesota to join Al-Shabab. Some have died, some remain at large and others are in prison for their role in what the FBI said was one of the largest efforts to recruit U.S. fighters to a foreign terrorist organization. The investigation is still active.

Hussein admitted she lied in 2009 when she told a grand jury she didn't know anyone who raised money for the travelers; she actually helped raise money herself.

Prosecutors sought a two-year prison sentence, arguing Hussein was firmly rooted in the conspiracy. But defense attorney Dulce Foster said Hussein was merely a naive teenager who came to the U.S. at age 10 and was trying to fit in with a group of peers who led her in the wrong direction.

Hussein has since moved to Nashville, Tenn., married and has a young son. She told Davis she would never harm "this great nation I call home."

She is not a U.S. citizen and could be subject to deportation. Foster said no immigration proceedings are pending.

Associated Press