Two Louisiana brothers are facing terrorism charges over an alleged scheme to finance Hamas through donations promoted as humanitarian aid for Gaza. Investigators say the case was helped along by the NYPD’s counterterrorism operations.
Abdel Adhami and his brother, Omar Adhami, were arrested in Louisiana last month. According to newly unsealed federal indictments, the men allegedly solicited donations online and directed some of the money to Saleem Alzaq, a Hamas member accused of using social media to spread the group’s propaganda.
Prosecutors allege that Abdel transferred more than $83,000 to Hamas between 2023 and 2026, while Omar is accused of sending approximately $6,000.
The fundraising operation “collected donations from individuals around the world, including from individuals in the United States, purportedly to provide humanitarian aid to people in Gaza,” according to a complaint against Alzaq.
Prosecutors say the operation had raised at least $1.7 million since 2020.
“Though these campaigns were advertised publicly as fundraising for humanitarian aid, Alzaq in fact used money from those campaigns to support Hamas,” the complaint alleges.
The alleged funding network began to unravel in November 2025, when Alzaq mistakenly contacted an undercover NYPD detective using the name “Hussain” on Snapchat.
A month later, Alzaq instructed the undercover officer to contact Abdel.
“Call him and come to an understanding with him and see what’s the best method, how to transfer, how to send them [funds]. This young man transfers to me on a monthly basis,” the complaint states.
The complaint does not make clear whether the undercover detective ultimately sent any money to Abdel.
Abdel and Omar Adhami each face charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and wire fraud.
Alzaq is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
“The NYPD’s counterterrorism work knows no borders,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement following the arrests.
“Our intelligence analysts uncovered this international finance network and built the case that exposed more than $2 million being funneled to Hamas,” Tisch said.
“This is the kind of extraordinary counterterrorism work the NYPD does every day to disrupt threats before they reach New Yorkers, and I thank our law enforcement partners for helping us dismantle this network,” she added.
