Charity Twist Funnels Cash To Hamas

Interior view of an empty courtroom with wooden furniture and American flags

A California man is now accused of turning “charity for Gaza” into a $600,000 cash pipeline for Hamas and even his own bills, in another reminder of how terror and fraud can hide behind woke-sounding causes.

Story Snapshot

Federal prosecutors say San Diego resident Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi raised about $600,000 through online “humanitarian” campaigns and a fake charity, then funneled money to Hamas and for personal use.
The Justice Department charged him with terrorism-related offenses, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and lying to investigators, with potential decades in prison if convicted.
Court documents say he sent about $116,000 to a Hamas member and tried to convert another $382,000 into cryptocurrency to route through a Hamas-linked group called Gaza Now.
This case fits a wider pattern of sham charities and crowdfunding drives using emotional appeals about Gaza to trick American Christians, Jews, and Muslims into funding a United States‑designated terrorist group.

What Federal Prosecutors Say Happened With This “Charity” Cash

Federal prosecutors say 38‑year‑old San Diego resident Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi built an online fundraising machine that looked like charity but was really about helping Hamas and himself.^[3] According to the complaint, he used social media, crowdfunding platforms, and a putative nonprofit called Ikram – The Arab Charity Foundation Inc. to ask people around the world to “help civilians in Gaza.”^[3] Prosecutors say that pitch was a lie and that the money was meant to reach Hamas, not needy families.

Court filings say that between December 2023 and February 2024, Sabassi raised roughly $600,000 through these campaigns, including from American donors who believed they were supporting relief work.^[3] Investigators allege he then sent about $116,000 to a known Hamas member and tried to convert around $382,000 into cryptocurrency to move it through Gaza Now, which the Treasury Department later designated as a key Hamas fundraising hub.^[3] Prosecutors also say he used some donor money to pay his own rent and credit card bills.^[3]

How The Charges Work — And Why They Matter For Everyday Patriots

The United States Department of Justice says Sabassi now faces five federal counts: conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, violating sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.^[7] Each terror and fraud charge carries up to 20 years in prison, and the false statement charge adds up to five more, meaning he could face decades behind bars if found guilty.^[7] Prosecutors stress that he is presumed innocent unless and until a jury rules otherwise.^[2]

Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg said Sabassi “exploited the barbaric acts of terror perpetrated on October 7, 2023” to attract donors to his supposed humanitarian causes.^[8] Officials say he publicly praised Hamas online and used that network to push fundraising links that looked compassionate on the surface but were tied to terror financing channels behind the scenes.^[3] To many American families already worried about border chaos and soft‑on‑crime policies, this case shows once again how bad actors can twist open platforms and emotional causes.

The Bigger Pattern: Sham “Humanitarian” Fronts For Hamas Cash

This case does not stand alone. Researchers and national security officials have warned for years that some overseas and Western charities raise money under a humanitarian banner while quietly moving cash to Hamas and similar groups.^[15] The United States Treasury Department recently sanctioned several foreign “charities” it called sham fronts that pretended to fund relief work but instead bankrolled Hamas’s military wing.^[19] These networks play on people’s natural desire to help suffering children to slip past common sense and basic vetting.

Past prosecutions show the same pattern: emotional images, claims of food and medicine, then money routed through layers of groups tied back to Hamas.^[16] At the same time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned Americans that scammers target crises like the Israel–Hamas war with fake humanitarian donation pages, including bogus crowdfunding drives.^[22] For conservative readers who believe in real charity, this is the worst of both worlds: terrorism funded, and generous citizens tricked. It is also why strict enforcement, transparency, and serious border and financial controls remain so important under any administration.

The Palestinian genocidal Hamas terrorist fundraiser plot gets bigger by the hour. Hamas terrorist fundraiser Reda Sabassi was employed with Booz Allen Hamilton.

Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, was charged with terrorism, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and making… https://t.co/DL9yyD6eCL pic.twitter.com/5KIh4DFOQR

— Saint James Hartline (@JamesHartline) June 18, 2026