U.S. AND FRENCH AUTHORITIES DISRUPT ALLEGED HAMAS FINANCE NETWORK ACCUSED OF RAISING MILLIONS THROUGH FALSE HUMANITARIAN CAMPAIGNS

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has announced federal charges against four men accused of helping finance Hamas through an international network that allegedly solicited donations under the appearance of humanitarian assistance while directing funds to the designated foreign terrorist organization.

The Justice Department announced charges involving Saleem Alzaq, 45, of Gaza; Omar Adhami, 33, of Covington, Louisiana; Abdel Adhami, 35, also of Covington; and Raed Yousef, 56, of Lutz, Florida. In France, authorities arrested Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid and Nordine Barika during a coordinated operation conducted by the French General Directorate for Internal Security.

Federal authorities allege Alzaq operated at the center of the financing structure and used social media campaigns presented as humanitarian fundraising efforts to collect money from donors around the world, including people in the United States. Prosecutors say the network raised more than $1.7 million since January 2020 through purported charitable campaigns while routing money to Hamas.

Investigators also allege that the broader network exposed more than $2 million in funds connected to Hamas financing. The cases span the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of Louisiana and Middle District of Florida and involve investigations by the FBI, New York Police Department, federal prosecutors and international law enforcement partners.

According to the indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Alzaq is alleged to be a Hamas member operating in Gaza and a battalion deputy in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing. Prosecutors allege he also works in the Photography Department of the Shujaiyya Brigade Media Office, where he has photographed Hamas events and distributed photographs and descriptions through the organization’s propaganda apparatus.

The government further alleges that Alzaq used multiple social media platforms to promote Hamas messaging, commemorate Hamas leaders and support members of the Al-Qassam Brigades. Prosecutors say his online activity included material celebrating the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel, during which more than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage, including 46 American citizens.

Since at least January 2020, prosecutors allege Alzaq operated an international fundraising network that solicited money from donors by portraying campaigns as assistance for civilians in Gaza. According to the Justice Department, the funds were instead funneled to Hamas. Associates in France, including Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid, allegedly assisted with collecting and transferring money through the network.

Omar Adhami and Abdel Adhami are accused of providing substantial financial support to Alzaq’s fundraising structure. Prosecutors allege Abdel Adhami contributed approximately $94,000 between February 2021 and September 2026, while Omar Adhami contributed approximately $11,000. Authorities claim both men knew Hamas was a designated terrorist organization and attempted to conceal their financial support through wire transfers and intermediaries.

Raed Yousef is accused of providing nearly $50,000 to Alzaq’s financing network. His case includes a broader collection of alleged financial crimes and document offenses tied to the government’s terrorism-financing investigation.

Alzaq faces four federal conspiracy charges. He is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, also carrying a maximum of 20 years; conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a maximum of 20 years; and conspiracy to defraud the United States, carrying a maximum penalty of five years.

Omar Adhami is charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each of the four charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Abdel Adhami faces the same four charges: providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years.

Yousef faces one of the most extensive sets of charges in the coordinated investigation. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and five counts of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Each of those offenses carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.

He is also charged with one count of providing funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist and five counts of attempting to provide funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors further charged him with conspiracy to commit money laundering and five substantive money laundering counts, each carrying maximum penalties of 20 years, along with one count of passport fraud carrying a maximum sentence of five years.

The Justice Department described the arrests and charges as a coordinated attempt to disrupt an alleged financing network operating across national borders and using financial transfers, intermediaries and cryptocurrency to obscure the destination and purpose of money.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department intends to prosecute individuals accused of financing terrorist organizations responsible for killing Americans and said the government will continue targeting terrorism-finance networks.

FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators followed financial activity allegedly tied to Hamas across multiple jurisdictions and accused members of the network of using cryptocurrency and charitable fundraising as mechanisms to disguise support for terrorist activity. Patel also credited FBI offices in New York, New Orleans and Tampa, the bureau’s Counterterrorism Division, the Paris Legal Attaché’s Office and French authorities for their roles in the investigation.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg characterized terrorist financing as a central operational component of terrorist organizations and said the coordinated investigations required cooperation across U.S. jurisdictions and international borders. He also credited Joint Task Force 10-7 for its role in pursuing accountability connected to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said prosecutors allege Alzaq operated at the center of a global network that solicited more than $1 million from individual donors, including people in the United States, while presenting fundraising activity as humanitarian assistance.

U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle for the Eastern District of Louisiana said the allegations against Omar and Abdel Adhami involve providing financial resources to Alzaq while prosecutors continue efforts to identify individuals and networks accused of financing designated terrorist organizations.

U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida said the investigation reflects continued coordination among domestic and international law enforcement agencies targeting financial support for terrorism.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said department intelligence analysts helped identify the international financial network and build a case involving more than $2 million allegedly routed to Hamas. She said investigators contend that donations were solicited under humanitarian pretenses and then redirected to the organization.

The Alzaq investigation is being conducted by the FBI with assistance from the New York Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Markewitz, Ben Arad, Sarah L. Kushner, Juliana N. Murray and Keith Savino for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Rob MacDonald and A.J. Dixon of the Justice Department National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

The Adhami investigation is being handled by the FBI New Orleans Field Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kennedy prosecuting the case in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Yousef case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Schmidt and Michael Buchanan in the Middle District of Florida.

The coordinated arrests represent a significant international terrorism-financing enforcement action because the alleged network crossed U.S. and European jurisdictions, involved fundraising directed at American donors and relied on multiple financial methods intended to conceal the movement of funds.

All charges remain allegations. Alzaq, Omar Adhami, Abdel Adhami and Raed Yousef are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

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