Charity Scam Funnels Cash To Hamas

Two armed masked soldiers with green flags.

Federal prosecutors say a San Diego “charity” quietly funneled donor money to Hamas, raising fresh questions about who we can trust with our outrage and our cash.

Story Snapshot

A San Diego man is charged with turning online Gaza “relief” drives into a pipeline for Hamas and himself.
Prosecutors say about $600,000 was raised, with funds allegedly sent to a Hamas member and into crypto tied to a Hamas-linked outlet.
The case fits a wider pattern of “sham charities” that use real suffering to move money through shadowy global networks.
The charges are allegations, not a conviction, but they highlight how both donors and taxpayers are kept in the dark.

What Prosecutors Say Happened

Federal officials say 38-year-old Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi of San Diego used social media, crowdfunding sites, and a nonprofit called Ikram – The Arab Charity Foundation to raise money he claimed was for humanitarian aid in Gaza.^[2] According to the complaint, from December 2023 to February 2024 he raised about $600,000 in online campaigns.^[2] Prosecutors allege he then sent roughly $116,000 to a Hamas member and tried to convert about $382,000 into cryptocurrency to route to Hamas through an outlet called Gaza Now.^[2]

The United States Department of Justice has charged Sabassi with five federal crimes: conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to violate economic sanctions, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.^[2] Each of the first four counts carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and the false statement charge carries up to five years.^[1] Officials say he also used some donations for his own rent and credit card bills, turning a crisis fundraiser into what they describe as both a terror finance and personal enrichment scheme.^[1]

How This Taps Into Donor Anger and Distrust

Justice Department leaders say Sabassi “exploited the barbaric acts of terror” on October 7, 2023, to pull in donors for “fraudulent ‘humanitarian’ causes.”^[3] Many Americans on both the right and left already feel burned by charities, politicians, and large nonprofits that raise money off tragedy and then vanish or waste it. This case strikes at that same nerve: regular people saw images from Gaza, opened their wallets in good faith, and now must wonder if their money helped a foreign terror group instead of desperate families.

For conservatives, the story confirms long-standing fears that weak oversight and global money flows let extremists hide behind feel-good branding. For liberals, it underscores concerns that real humanitarian work is hijacked by bad actors, and that honest aid workers will now be treated as suspects. Both sides share the same core frustration: large systems collect huge sums, but almost no ordinary donor gets a clear, audited line from their $50 online gift to an actual person in need. When that gap exists, it is easy for corrupt players to step in.

Part of a Larger “Sham Charity” Pattern

This case is not happening in a vacuum. The United States Department of the Treasury has spent years flagging networks that pose as charities while allegedly feeding Hamas’s military wing.^[8] Treasury officials say Hamas may receive up to $10 million a month from donations routed through such fronts.^[8] In one example, they sanctioned an Italy-based Hamas member, Mohammad Hannoun, accusing him of using a group called the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to send at least $4 million to Hamas over a decade.^[8]

Other actions tell a similar story: five individuals and five overseas charities were designated as “sham charities” for raising money under the cover of humanitarian work but allegedly channeling funds to Hamas’s fighters.^[7] These patterns show why many Americans feel international aid has become a maze. Money passes through foreign nongovernmental organizations, shell entities, and crypto wallets that almost no voter, and often no lawmaker, truly understands. The more layers there are, the easier it becomes for elites, extremists, or both to skim off the top while insisting they are “helping the people.”

Due Process, Public Narrative, and the Deep-State Fear

At the same time, Sabassi has not been convicted. The complaint and press releases describe allegations, not proven facts. The government has not yet presented bank records, chat logs, or full evidence in open court. That matters in a country built on presumption of innocence. Many Americans worry that once the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and United States attorneys blast out statements on social media, the accused is guilty in the court of public opinion long before a jury hears anything.^[4]

The US Department of Justice has charged Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, of San Diego, California, with providing material support to Hamas, along with sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.

Prosecutors say Sabassi used online fundraising… pic.twitter.com/ngOMEM5yKa

— ILTV Israel News (@ILTVNews) June 17, 2026

For readers already skeptical of a “deep state,” this case cuts both ways. On one hand, if the allegations are true, then federal agents uncovered a serious threat that most donors never could have spotted. On the other hand, the same institutions that missed waste, fraud, and abuse in other programs now ask for full trust while offering only selective details. The real test will be whether the case moves quickly to trial, with evidence laid out in public, or fades into the background after the headlines, leaving citizens with more fear than clarity.