Left-wing Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker reportedly suggested during a recent livestream that federal scrutiny surrounding a Cuba trip is less about sanctions enforcement and more about targeting a wealthy donor tied to activist movements across the United States.
During a Monday broadcast titled “FEDS ARE AFTER ME,” Piker claimed the true focus of a Treasury Department investigation is tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, an American businessman currently living in Shanghai who has reportedly funded a range of left-wing political organizations and activist causes.
According to reporting from Fox News, Piker pointed to groups including CodePink, the ANSWER Coalition, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation as organizations receiving support from Singham.
“He’s been a funding vehicle for a lot of like political, uh, a lot of political movements in the country, a lot of activism,” Piker said during the stream, according to Fox News reporting highlighted by journalist Asra Nomani.
The controversy comes amid longstanding concerns from congressional investigators over the role Singham-linked nonprofits may be playing in American politics while maintaining charitable status. Fox News Digital previously reported that Singham has directed roughly $278 million toward pro-communist nonprofit groups since 2017. Earlier this year, a House committee reportedly identified Singham as a donor with alleged “close ties” to the Chinese Communist Party.
The latest dispute erupted after Fox News reported that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had issued administrative subpoenas to Piker and Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CodePink. The subpoenas were reportedly tied to the “Nuestra América Convoy,” a March trip to Cuba that authorities are examining for potential sanctions violations involving “the financing, coordination or delivery of goods” to the communist island nation.
The investigation has reignited debate over how activist groups operate internationally and whether U.S. sanctions laws are being adequately enforced. Critics of communist regimes have long argued that American organizations sympathetic to those governments often blur the line between activism and political advocacy on behalf of foreign interests.
At the same time, the episode also highlights growing tension over federal investigations involving political speech and activism. Piker rejected the idea that the probe was legitimate enforcement activity and instead framed it as an attempt to pressure Singham and the organizations connected to him.
“They’re trying to jam him up….That’s it. That’s the goal here….They get to chill speech,” Piker said, according to Fox News reporting.
Both Piker and Benjamin later disputed Fox News’ account of the subpoenas. Speaking to reporter Ryan Grim of Drop Site News, the pair reportedly said they had never actually been served. Piker has also stated previously that he only became aware of the alleged investigation through media reports and had not been directly contacted by federal authorities.
The dispute leaves lingering questions not only about foreign-linked political funding and sanctions enforcement, but also about how aggressively the federal government should pursue politically sensitive investigations tied to ideological activism abroad.
