Florida beauty-supply owner charged with funneling money to Hamas and urging violence against Jews

Federal investigators have charged Raed Yousef, who operates six beauty-supply stores in central Florida, with conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, money laundering, and passport fraud. The indictment details a fundraising ring that emerged after Hamas’s October 7 attack, involving a French organization posing as a humanitarian aid group, a Hamas operative in Gaza, and a participant in Louisiana. Through this network, the French group moved more than $330,000 to Hamas-controlled cryptocurrency wallets, and Yousef contributed over $46,000.

Messaging records reveal Yousef used code words such as “green” and “bread” for Hamas and later posted graphic calls for Jews to be slaughtered and beheaded. He claimed the donations were for “needy people in Gaza,” but prosecutors argue his extremist statements prove knowledge of the true purpose. A magistrate judge ordered him to stay detained, citing flight risk and danger to the community. The case underscores a broader U.S. crackdown on alleged Hamas financing channels that blend charitable facades, crowdfunding, and digital currencies.