Code words, Telegram, Snapchat and more: How the NYPD busted a $2M Hamas fundraising network

An underground Hamas fundraising network is blown wide open after a single social media user in Gaza triggers an investigation by the NYPD back in 2023.

Now, three arrests in the US, three more in France, and a 27-count federal case reveal how prosecutors say the Hamas financing network worked – from Snapchat, Telegram, and PayPal to coded messages about "bread."

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday announced the bust, detailing the clandestine fundraising operation and the dozens of charges filed against the four men accused of paying, soliciting, and collecting money for the designated terrorist organization.

According to US Attorney General Todd Blanche, since 2020, the illicit network collected millions of dollars “under the guise of charitable giving” in the form of “humanitarian aid” intended for Palestinians in Gaza.

But instead, the funds were funneled directly to Hamas leaders “to fuel violent attacks, using cryptocurrency to try to hide their criminal activity,” Blanche said.

What started as a simple NYPD operation became part of a broader effort

disrupting over 4,000 Foreign Terrorist Organizations and stopping 1,100 alleged terrorist actors here at home and around the world since last year,

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Inside the six-year Hamas fundraising operation

The three suspects now in US custody include Louisiana brothers Abdel and Omar Adhami and Florida resident Raed Yousef – while the alleged mastermind, Gaza-based Saleem Alzaq, is reportedly still in Gaza.

Running the operations from Gaza, 45-year-old Alzaq is said to be a longtime member of Hamas’ military arm, the Al-Qassam Brigades, responsible for planning and carrying out terrorist attacks.

According to the indictment, unsealed on Friday, Alzaq is also part of the terror group's media department, working as a photographer tasked with promoting Hamas propaganda online.

Starting in 2020, Alzaq is accused of using multiple social media platforms to promote the group’s fundraising and propaganda, including glorifying Hamas leaders and eventually praising the October 7th, 2023 attacks on Israel.

Following the money: PayPal, Western Union, and crypto

By 2021, the operation allegedly expanded into the US through Abdel and Omar Adhami, two brothers living in Covington, Louisiana.

The FBI documented the 30-something siblings moving more than $100,000 through the network from February 2021 through September 2026, with Abdel reportedly describing the scheme as “Jihad by money.”

By God, every time I see one of the bread people do something, I would wish I was there with him. I ask God almighty that I be one of those who make jihad with their money,

said suspect Abdel Adhami, according to court filings.

Prosecutors say the duo allegedly operated multiple Snapchat accounts, directing followers to Telegram while also soliciting donations through Instagram.

According to Louisiana Secretary of State records, the brothers owned two beauty supply stores, which they purportedly used as a front to funnel thousands in donations to Hamas operatives via wire transfers and intermediaries using PayPal and Western Union.

In November 2021, Alzaq allegedly asked an associate in France to create a PayPal account after explaining the brothers were having trouble with the platform because of sanctions involving Gaza and Hamas.

The French associate would accumulate donations before sending the money to Alzaq through Western Union, according to the indictment.

Alzaq allegedly instructed the associate to use different names to receive payments in Gaza so the French government would not see repeated transfers to Gaza, and Western Union would not ban the sender.

Eventually, Alzaq would ask for the donations to be sent via Bitcoin or other digital currency on crypto exchanges – instead of Western Union – to conceal their origins.

Sometime in 2023, the DoJ says 56-year-old suspect Raed Yousef joined the Hamas fundraising train, dumping another $50,000 into the terror donation pot.

A resident of Lutz, Florida – and also the owner of six beauty supply stores in central Florida, according to a report in The Times of Israel – Yousef was arrested after returning to Tampa following an extended trip to the Middle East.

"Bread," "bakeries," and hiding the money trail

Investigators say the suspects would also rely on coded messages when talking about money.

Don't mention anything by its name on WhatsApp, and use the word ‘bread’ instead.

Abdel Adhami warned his brother in one WhatsApp message, court records showed.

The dough-like reference would repeatedly surface throughout the investigation.

In January 2024, Alzaq allegedly sent a voice message through Snapchat referring to "the bread people" when discussing funds that had been delivered.

In other instances, prosecutors say Alzaq used terms including "bread," "bakeries," "buy bread," and "give it to the bakeries" while talking about sending money to Hamas.

Furthermore, Alzaq reportedly coached donors on what not to write when sending donations.

In October 2024, prosecutors say he instructed Snapchat followers to omit phrases such as "Free Palestine" or "long live Hamas" in PayPal donation notes to ensure the accounts did not get shut down.

Alzaq was also documented boasting to Hamas supporters that he could move any amount of money he wanted.

Undercover NYPD operation follows the money

The NYPD began investigating Alzaq's social media activity in 2023, the indictment shows.

By September 2024, an undercover NYPD officer had reportedly made contact with Alzaq through Facebook, later moving the conversation to WhatsApp.

In March 2025, Alzaq allegedly referred the undercover officer to one of the brothers to make a donation.

According to reports by JNS, the suspect later offered to process the donation through his beauty store's credit card system as merchandise.

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

In September 2025, after returning to the US from abroad, Customs and Border Protection seized Abdel’s phone at the airport as evidence to support his arrest.

Meanwhile, the NYPD launched a separate undercover sting involving the Gaza-based Alzaq soon after.

In November 2025, an undercover officer posing as a New York-based Hamas supporter contacted Alzaq on Snapchat.

Alzaq allegedly suggested the officer send funds to his associates in the US, moving the money "from account to account" before it ultimately reached Gaza through PayPal.

My friends are in New York, so many of them; they are in New York and in the state of Ohio and all over the United States.

They are young people and they send me all the time. They never fall short with us, they fund us,

suspect Saleem Alzaq wrote to the undercover NYPD officer on Snapchat.

By December, prosecutors say Alzaq was discussing getting money to "the Green" – which investigators identified as a reference to Hamas – while again using "bread" and "bakeries" as code.

Terror suspects face 27 counts, 510 years behind bars

Alzaq is charged with four conspiracy counts – providing material support to Hamas, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, money laundering, and defrauding the US.

Louisiana brothers Omar and Abdel Adhami are both charged with four counts each, including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, along with wire fraud and money laundering.

Yousef faces 19 counts, including attempting to provide material support, sanctions violations, money laundering, and passport fraud.

If convicted, all three suspects in US custody face up to 20 years in prison on multiple counts. Alzaq, who is reportedly still at large in Gaza, would face the same if arrested.

Extending into Europe, French authorities arrested Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid, and Nordine Barika in coordination with US authorities.

Also on Friday, US Treasury officials separately sanctioned Alzaq and parts of the financing network.