How an Undercover NYPD Detective Unraveled an Alleged Hamas Fundraising Scheme
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Two Louisiana brothers are facing terrorism charges for their alleged role in a twisted scheme to fund Hamas under the guise of Gaza humanitarian aid – and they were brought down with the help of the NYPD.
Abdel Adhami and his sibling Omar Adhami were busted in the Pelican State last month for allegedly raising money online and funneling it to Saleem Alzaq, a member of the terror group who regularly uses social media to post Hamas propaganda, according to newly unsealed federal indictments.
Abdel allegedly funneled more than $83,000 to Hamas from 2023 to 2026 while his brother is accused of sending $6,000.
The fundraising scheme “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 Alzaq’s complaint.
Since 2020, the operation has raised at least $1.7 million, according to prosecutors.
“Though these campaigns were advertised publicly as fundraising for humanitarian aid, Alzaq in fact used money from those campaigns to support Hamas,” the complaint says.
The fundraising plot started to unravel after Alzaq inadvertently contacted an undercover NYPD detective who went by “Hussain” in November 2025 via SnapChat.
The next month, Alzaq directed the cop to reach out to 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.
It’s unclear if the undercover detective actually transferred any money to Abdel.
Abdel and his brother both face charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and wire fraud.
Alzaq was 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 about the arrests.
“Our intelligence analysts uncovered this international finance network and built the case that exposed more than $2 million being funneled to Hamas,” the commissioner 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.