US federal authorities charged a California man on Wednesday with fundraising for Hamas through sham charities, illustrating how the terrorist group raises money abroad.

Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, was charged with terrorism, sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements.

Sabassi allegedly collected more than $600,000 in donations from thousands of donors for humanitarian aid for Gaza, but directed the money to Hamas and for personal expenses.

In 2022, Sabassi set up a nonprofit called Ikram — The Arab Charity Foundation, allowing him to collect tax-deductible donations with the stated aim of “providing emergency humanitarian relief to displaced families and refugees in Gaza.”

The nonprofit raised $638,000 in donations in 2023 and Sabassi was the only staffer, filings showed.

Sabassi solicited donations through his nonprofit’s website and posted charity campaigns on crowdsourcing platforms, which circulated on Telegram and social media.

“Help 4 orphans who fled from Gaza start a new life,” one of the campaigns said, alongside a photo of a child. Another campaign, called “Gaza Relief,” said it would provide necessities like food and tents, and a third, “Gaza Relief Urgent Appeal,” vowed to secure a “brighter and warmer future” for Gazans.

A LinkedIn page matching Sabassi’s name, location, and the photo used for the charity campaigns said that he had a degree in software engineering from a university in Jordan and worked as a user interface developer.

Sabassi is a naturalized US citizen, the charges said. US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to a request for details about how he had acquired citizenship.

While operating Ikram, behind the scenes, Sabassi spread pro-Hamas propaganda and coordinated financial transfers to Hamas, according to a criminal complaint filed in the federal Southern District of New York court. More than 100 donors to Sabassi’s campaigns appeared to reside in New York, the complaint said.

Sabassi collected Hamas videos from Telegram and put together an hour-long compilation of footage filmed by the terrorists during the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern........

© The Times of Israel