Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, a 38-year-old San Diego resident, was charged last month with five federal counts for channeling funds to the terrorist organization Hamas. According to the indictment, Sabsi used a fictitious charity organization and crowdfunding platforms to raise money ostensibly for humanitarian aid to Gaza residents, but actually directed it to finance terrorism and for his personal use.
1+The investigation found that between December 2023 and February 2024, Sabassi raised approximately $600,000 through social media and online campaigns under the organization name “Ikram.” Of that amount, roughly $116,000 was transferred directly to a Hamas operative. Additionally, Sabsi attempted to convert approximately $382,000 into cryptocurrency through the “Gaza Now” fundraising network, an entity identified with Hamas that is under U.S. Treasury Department sanctions.
Concurrently with this case, an indictment was filed in New York against Catherine Beth Washburn for attempting to provide material support to the ‘Palestinian’ Islamic Jihad organization. Law enforcement and legal officials point out that the activities of such organizations damage the credibility of legitimate charitable organizations. Sabbasi’s case recalls the “Holy Land Foundation” affair from two decades ago, in which fund managers were convicted of channeling approximately $12.4 million to Hamas under a similar guise.
1+Following exposure of the scheme, demands are growing to tighten oversight of payment platforms and crowdfunding. Local experts argue that platforms must conduct rigorous verification of campaign organizers, beneficiaries, and the digital wallets linked to them before approving activity.