BS BULLETIN:

• Two Louisiana brothers have been charged in an alleged Hamas fundraising network that prosecutors say raised more than $1.7 million worldwide.
• Federal investigators allege money was solicited as humanitarian aid for Gaza but diverted to Hamas and its supporters.
• The case began to unravel after a Hamas-linked fundraiser allegedly contacted an undercover NYPD detective.

Two Louisiana brothers are facing federal terrorism charges after investigators say they helped move money through a fundraising network that presented itself as humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Abdel Adhami and Omar Adhami were arrested in Louisiana last month and charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and wire fraud-related offenses.

Federal investigators allege the broader fundraising operation collected more than $1.7 million between 2020 and 2025, including at least $626,000 from donors in the United States.

At the center of the case is Saleem Alzaq, whom federal authorities identify as a Hamas member based in Gaza who used social media to promote the terrorist organization while soliciting donations.

The fundraising campaigns were presented publicly as efforts to help poor families, orphans and other civilians in Gaza.

Prosecutors say the money did not always stay there.

Abdel Adhami allegedly used several Snapchat accounts to circulate Hamas propaganda, solicit donations and send followers to a Telegram account that promoted both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Investigators say he transferred more than $83,000 connected to Alzaq between 2023 and 2026.

Omar Adhami is accused of sending thousands more.

The court filings also describe coded conversations about where some of the money was going.

According to investigators, the word “bread” was sometimes used when discussing money intended for Hamas fighters.

In one message cited in the federal filings, Abdel allegedly warned his brother not to discuss the subject directly on WhatsApp and instead use the code word.

Alzaq later allegedly sent a message indicating that some recipients had received the “bread.”

The investigation took a dramatic turn in November 2025 when Alzaq allegedly made contact through Snapchat with an undercover NYPD detective posing as a prospective donor.

The detective used the name “Hussain.”

The following month, prosecutors say Alzaq directed the undercover officer to Abdel Adhami to discuss how money could be transferred.

According to court filings, Abdel allegedly proposed processing a donation through his store’s credit-card system so that the payment would appear to be an ordinary purchase before the money was moved along.

“But do not worry. Everything is legal, God willing,” Abdel allegedly told the undercover officer.

Investigators say that contact helped expose the larger network.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited the department’s counterterrorism work and cooperation with federal authorities in uncovering what she described as a multimillion-dollar financing operation.

Abdel Adhami faces charges that include providing material support to Hamas, wire fraud and money laundering.

Omar Adhami faces material-support and wire-fraud charges.

Alzaq has separately been charged with offenses including money laundering and sanctions violations and was believed to be in Gaza when the charges were filed.

The allegations remain accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

MY QUICK TAKE

There is one detail here that tells you almost everything.

Investigators say they couldn’t call the money what it was, so they called it “bread.”

Humanitarian relief was supposedly on the menu. Prosecutors say Hamas was sitting at the table.

And apparently the whole thing started coming apart because one of the alleged fundraisers tried pitching the wrong guy on Snapchat — an undercover NYPD cop.

That is one spectacularly bad friend request.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

• New York Post — Two US brothers busted in $1.7M Hamas fundraising scheme
• JNS — Louisiana brothers charged with bankrolling Hamas
• Times of Israel — Alleged Hamas fundraiser told undercover officer he had a New York network
• U.S. Justice Department — Justice Department disrupts Hamas terrorist financing schemes
• U.S. Justice Department — San Diego resident charged in separate Hamas fundraising case