Crypto Funnel Exposes Hamas Pipeline

A California man is accused of turning “charity for Gaza” into a $600,000 cash pipeline for Hamas and for himself, exposing how terrorist fundraisers can hide in plain sight inside the United States.

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 routed money to Hamas and for personal bills.
The Justice Department says Sabassi sent around $116,000 to a Hamas member and tried to move another $382,000 into cryptocurrency through a Hamas-linked group called Gaza Now.
Sabassi faces terrorism, sanctions-evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and false statement charges, with potential decades in prison if convicted.
The case highlights a wider problem of sham charities and online fundraisers that use emotional appeals about Gaza to bankroll terrorism and scam well-meaning Americans.

Federal Case: Alleged Charity For Gaza, Cash For Hamas

The United States Department of Justice says 38-year-old San Diego resident Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi ran a network of online fundraisers that looked like humanitarian aid drives but were in fact a vehicle to send money to Hamas and cover his own living costs.^[3] Prosecutors say that between December 2023 and February 2024, Sabassi used social media, crowdfunding sites, and a putative nonprofit called Ikram – The Arab Charity Foundation Inc. to pull in about $600,000 from donors in the United States and overseas.^[2] Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist group, so any material support is a serious federal crime.^[9]

According to the complaint, Sabassi’s appeals focused on suffering civilians in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, but agents say the money trail tells a different story.^[3] Investigators allege he sent about $116,000 to a known Hamas member and attempted to convert roughly $382,000 to cryptocurrency to route through Gaza Now, which the Treasury Department later designated as a key Hamas fundraising front.^[3] Court papers also claim Sabassi skimmed donor money to pay his own rent and personal credit card bills, using the “charity” as a cover for both terror finance and fraud.^[3]

Charges, Presumption Of Innocence, And What Is At Stake

The Justice Department says Sabassi is charged with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to violate federal economic sanctions, conspiring to commit wire fraud, conspiring to commit money laundering, and making false statements.^[7] Each of the first four counts can carry up to 20 years in prison, while the false statement charge can add up to five years, meaning he could face decades behind bars if a jury finds him guilty.^[7] He was arrested in San Diego and appeared before a federal magistrate judge, and the case is being prosecuted out of the Southern District of New York, which often handles major terrorism-finance cases.^[5] Prosecutors stress that these are accusations at this stage, and under the Constitution he is presumed innocent unless and until the government proves each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.^[2]

Still, federal officials are describing the allegations in sharp terms. In its public statement, the Justice Department said Sabassi “exploited the barbaric acts of terror perpetrated on October 7, 2023, to attract donors to his fraudulent ‘humanitarian’ causes” and then “funneled” large sums to Hamas while also lining his own pockets.^[8] An official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterterrorism division said the defendant allegedly claimed to raise money for charity but “was actually funding the terrorist organization Hamas and also lining his own pockets,” highlighting both the security risk and the betrayal of donors who thought they were helping families in need.^[8] For many conservative Americans, this case will look like a perfect storm of deceit: emotional propaganda, online platforms with weak oversight, and a terror organization trying to reach deep into American communities.

Pattern Of Sham “Humanitarian” Charities And Why It Matters Now

This case does not stand alone; it fits a larger pattern that national security experts have warned about for years. The Treasury Department has repeatedly sanctioned “sham charities” abroad that claimed to deliver humanitarian relief but were in fact prominent financial supporters of Hamas’s military wing, moving money under the cover of aid for Gaza.^[15] Researchers have documented similar tactics across the West, where organizations and online campaigns “ostensibly raised funds for humanitarian purposes but in reality helped bankroll Hamas’s military wing,” often by targeting sympathetic diaspora communities and college activists.^[19] In 2008, leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Muslim charity in the United States, were convicted in federal court for routing millions of dollars through Hamas-controlled “zakat” committees after the group was designated a terrorist organization.^[16]

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

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also warned the public that scammers are running fake humanitarian drives tied to the Israel–Hamas conflict and urged Americans to verify charities and crowdfunding sites before giving.^[22] For conservative readers, this case is a reminder that open borders, loose online oversight, and political softness toward radical groups have real costs. Every dollar that slips through a fake “charity” to Hamas is a dollar that can support rockets, tunnels, or the next October 7-style attack, and it also erodes trust in genuine relief work. Under the current Trump administration, federal agencies are clearly being pushed to crack down harder on these networks, but this case shows how much damage can be done in just a few months when watchdogs, payment platforms, and big tech are slow to act and when emotional narratives about Gaza are used to shut down hard questions about where the money is really going.