United States officials have charged six people with providing financial aid to the Pakistani Taliban.

The defendants--five men and one woman, “are charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically, the Pakistani Taliban,” the justice department said in a statement.

The accusation mentions the financial transfers of $50,000 (£30,000) but Wifredo Ferrer - US attorney for the Southern District of Florida - and local FBI agents said evidence shows it was just the tip of the iceberg.

The three American citizens who were arrested include Hafiz Khan, 76, and his two sons. Hafiz was arrested on May 14 at a mosque in Miami, Florida.

His 24-year-old son, Izhar, who is also an imam, was arrested in a nearby town in Florida. Another son, 37-year-old Irfan was detained in Los Angeles, California, on the U.S. West Coast.

Three other people in Pakistan were also charged with handling the distribution of funds, including Hafiz Khan's daughter, Aamana, and her son, Alam Zeb.

The six people are charged for providing material support to a conspiracy to murder, injure and kidnap people abroad and to provide support to a terrorist organization, namely the Taliban.

Despite being an imam, Hafiz Khan is by no means a man of peace. He acted with others to support terrorists for their acts of murder and kidnapping, said Ferrer.

Hafiz and Izhar Khan are expected to appear in a U.S. federal court in Miami on May 16. It was not clear when Irfan Khan would be due in court. Each of the four counts could carry possibly 15 years of imprisonment.

Ikram Khan, another son of Hafiz Khan, said in a statement that his father was too “old and unwell” to be involved in such a plot. None of my family supports the Taliban, we support this country, he told the Miami Herald.

Court California Florida Fbi