San Diego man charged with funneling 'charitable donations' to Hamas terrorists

A San Diego man faces federal charges for allegedly raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hamas, disguising the funds as humanitarian aid for Gaza. Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, was arrested Tuesday on a five-count criminal complaint including terrorism, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, Sabassi operated social media accounts, crowdfunding websites, and a charity named Ikram - The Arab Charity Foundation Inc. Prosecutors claim he solicited donations worldwide, including from U.S. citizens, falsely stating the money was for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the funds were allegedly intended to support Hamas.

Court documents reveal that between December 2023 and February 2024, Sabassi raised about $600,000. Of this, he allegedly sent $116,000 to a Hamas member and tried to convert $382,000 into cryptocurrency to send through Gaza Now, an organization linked to Hamas.

Investigators also found that Sabassi publicly supported Hamas on social media, including posting a propaganda video about the October 7 massacre. In private conversations, he and a co-conspirator reportedly joked about naming a fundraising campaign after Hamas's military wing before settling on his charity's name. Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg stated that Sabassi "exploited the October 7 attacks in order to draw donors to fraudulent 'humanitarian' causes."

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He allegedly raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through this scheme, which he then funneled to Hamas to help finance that group’s terror and violence and to line his own pockets.