FBI accuses Louisiana brothers of raising funds for Hamas

What happened

• Federal prosecutors charged two brothers from Louisiana, Abdel and Omar Adhami, with providing material support to Hamas and wire fraud, with the elder brother also facing a money laundering count, according to complaints filed on September 11 and unsealed this week.JNS.orgNOLA.comfox8live.comWWLTV.comjpost.com
• The FBI says the brothers sent money to Saleem Alzaq, a Gaza-based fundraiser who allegedly solicited donations on Snapchat and Instagram for orphans and the poor while promoting Hamas, and that they used code words such as "bread" to disguise the transfers.JNS.orgNOLA.comjpost.comIsrael Hayom
• A separate unsealed indictment charges Alzaq, described by prosecutors as a longtime Hamas member still in Gaza, with running a campaign that raised more than $1.7 million between 2020 and 2025, including at least $626,000 from donors in the United States, with alleged co-conspirators in France and Florida as well as Louisiana.CBS NewsNBC News
• Accounts of the brothers' share differ: CBS News cites prosecutors putting it at roughly $105,000, while JNS, citing the FBI affidavits, breaks it down as about $83,000 from the older brother and roughly $2,900 from the younger.CBS NewsJNS.org
• Investigators built part of the case through an undercover NYPD employee who contacted Alzaq posing as a New York-based Hamas supporter in November 2025 and was referred to the older brother, who allegedly offered to route a donation through his store's credit card system; Israel Hayom reports the laundering ran through cosmetics shops.JNS.orgThe Times of IsraelNew York PostIsrael HayomCBS News

Why it matters

A terrorism researcher quoted by JNS said the case shows how social media apps have lowered the barrier to moving money to Hamas, and that prosecutors are increasingly targeting alleged US-based funders of the group.JNS.org

Where coverage differs

• North American outlets largely led with the prosecution itself — CBS News and NBC News with the $1.7 million figure and the indictment's allegations, the New York Post with the NYPD's role in cracking the network, and Louisiana outlets with the local identity of the accused.CBS NewsNBC NewsNew York PostNOLA.comWWLTV.comfox8live.com
• Israeli outlets foregrounded the method and the reach of the alleged network: The Times of Israel led with the undercover exchange about contacts in New York, Israel Hayom with the laundering scheme and incriminating messages, and The Jerusalem Post framed it as a social media donation scam.The Times of IsraelIsrael Hayomjpost.com