Irvine man indicted for allegedly attempting to support and finance terrorists

SANTA ANA, California – A federal grand jury today returned a four-count indictment that charges an Irvine man with attempting to provide material support to two foreign terrorist organizations – Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Hamas.

Jason Fong, 24, allegedly attempted in the spring of 2020 to provide to HTS tactical, combat and weapons training material – as well as information regarding the making of chemical weapons and improvised explosive devices.

The indictment further alleges that in May 2020 Fong attempted to fundraise for Hamas. The indictment further alleges that at the time he committed these offenses, Fong knew that each organization had been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States government.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Fong has been summonsed to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court on May 23. A trial in this matter was previously set for October 25.

If he were to be convicted of the charges in the indictment, Fong would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the four counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Irvine Police Department, and the New York Police Department are participating in the ongoing investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Christine Ro and Mark Takla of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, and Trial Attorney John Cella from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting this case.