Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed a five-count criminal complaint on June 17, 2026, charging Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, of San Diego, California, with conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements [1]. The complaint alleges that Sabassi used a fictitious nonprofit, "Ikram, The Arab Charity Foundation Inc.," and social media crowdfunding campaigns to solicit donations from the public under the pretense of humanitarian relief [1][2].
Between December 2023 and February 2024, Sabassi allegedly raised approximately $600,000 through those fraudulent campaigns [1]. Prosecutors allege he then diverted at least $116,000 directly to a Hamas member and attempted to convert approximately $382,000 into cryptocurrency through Gaza Now, a media and financial network, for transmission to Hamas [1][2]. Hamas has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government since 1997, and providing it material support is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. Sanctions regulations administered by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control independently prohibit financial transactions with the group [1].
The case is being prosecuted jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department's National Security Division [1][2]. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, National Security Division head John A. Eisenberg, and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Donald Holstead are among the officials named in the charging announcement [1]. The investigation was conducted by the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force [2]. The venue in the SDNY, despite Sabassi's California residence, signals that investigators traced a significant portion of the alleged financial activity through New York-based networks or institutions.
The complaint stage means charges have not yet been tested before a grand jury, and Sabassi is presumed innocent. Prosecutors will likely seek an indictment within the statutory window. The wire fraud and money laundering counts carry potential sentences of up to 20 years each, while the material support charge carries up to 20 years as well, and the false statements count carries up to five years [1]. The case adds to a pattern of DOJ enforcement actions targeting online donation pipelines allegedly exploited to funnel money to sanctioned terrorist organizations, a category prosecutors have pursued with increasing frequency since the October 2023 escalation of conflict in Gaza [3].