House panel warns Singham-linked nonprofits: Comply with subpoenas or face Congress

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Lawmakers have escalated their probe of three nonprofits linked to Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham’s funding network, warning that their leaders — and even Singham himself — could be hauled before Congress to answer questions under oath unless they comply with subpoenas by Tuesday.

In new letters announced this week, the Republican-ledHouse Ways and Means Committeerenewed its demands for financial records and other documents as lawmakers investigate whether millions of dollars flowing through Singham’s network of tax-exempt nonprofits are being used to advance Chinese Communist Party interests in the United States.

The list includes nonprofit executives, activists and journalists associated with the three organizations.

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Split image of the illuminated U.S. Capitol building at night and Neville Roy Singham wearing a red shirt.

The U.S.Capitol, left, and tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, right.Singham is among 21 individuals identified by the House Ways and Means Committee for potential questioning under oath as lawmakers investigate alleged foreign influence involving his nonprofit funding network.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc.via Getty Images;Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

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The letters were sent to The People’s Forum Inc., a New York City-based activist hub;BreakThrough News, a left-wing nonprofit media outlet that shares a Manhattan address with The People’s Forum;and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a Massachusetts-based Marxist think tank.

“Shanghai Singham has poured millions of dollars into these groups to take advantage of America’s nonprofit sector and promote Chinese Communist Party propaganda.That much is public.What these groups are fighting to keep hidden is even more concerning,” Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in astatement.

“Either these organizations turn over the documents, or their leaders will answer the Committee’s questions under oath.”

The threatened depositions mark another escalation in a dispute that began with requests for financial records in 2025 and intensified when the committeesubpoenaed the three nonprofitsin July.

The organizations havechallenged the investigation, arguing lawmakers are targeting their political views and First Amendment-protected activities.

Who could face questioning?

The potential deposition targets include eight individuals at The People’s Forum, seven at BreakThrough News and six at Tricontinental.

Among those named are The People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos, education director Layan Fuleihan and organizing director David Chung;BreakThrough News editor-in-chief Ben Becker, news director Zoe Alexandra and chief correspondent Rania Khalek;and Tricontinental executive director Vijay Prashad and Singham, who is listed as chairman of its international advisory board.

The committee has not publicly announced that deposition subpoenas have been issued to any of the individuals.

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Manolo De Los Santos and Layan Fuleihan at an anti-Netanyahu protest in Bryant Park, New York City.

People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos, left, and education director Layan Fuleihan, right, attend an anti-Netanyahu protest at Bryant Park in New York City on Sept.24, 2026.Both have been identified by the House Ways and Means Committee as potential deposition targets.(Asra Q.

Singham network

The panel alleges thatSingham channeled moneythrough shell companies and donor-advised funds before it reached the three tax-exempt groups.Such arrangements, the committee said, can allow foreign-linked funding to pass through intermediaries that “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.”

Singham is an American-born technology tycoon and longtime Marxist activist who sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai.

S.nonprofits that served as funding hubs within a broader international network of activist groups, media organizations and think tanks promoting socialist, communist and pro-China causes.

Of that funding, the investigation found $22.44 million flowed to The People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the parent organization of BreakThrough News.Together, the three received approximately $40.3 million, according to the investigation, which the committee cited in its earlier correspondence.

The committee says it is examining whether existing tax laws adequately protect againstforeign influence in the nonprofit sectorand whether Congress should strengthen those laws.

The investigation is examining possible wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial offenses.No criminal charges against Singham have been announced.

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BreakThrough Newspushes back

BreakThrough News condemned the latest demands in an Oct.9 statement on its website, accusing the committee of targeting its journalists because of their political views.The outlet said it receives no outside editorial direction and that its major donations come from U.S.organizations.

During an episode of its BT Live program, hosts Alexandra and Khalek, both named among those facing potential depositions, denounced the committee’s demands.

“Unless BT gives up its legal rights, including our First Amendment protections, he’ll subpoena each of us individually and drag us to Washington for depositions,” Alexandra said.

Khalek accused lawmakers of targeting journalists personally after the outlet challenged earlier demands.

“They will come after us individually if we don’t comply with their unconstitutional demands,” she said.

BreakThrough News also urged supporters to sign a petition opposing the investigation and donate to help cover its legal expenses.

The investigation has also drawnaccusations of McCarthyismfrom prominent left-wing figures, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who called the July subpoenas “the McCarthy trials” and warned, “They will come for you,” and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who described them as a “terrible attack on independent journalism.”

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Members of the People's Forum Inc. setting up banners and signs in Union Square.

David Chung, organizing director at the People’s Forum Inc., sets up in Union Square to protest the war with Iran in New York, N.Y., on Saturday, March 7, 2026.He carries signs with the website domain for the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Congressional showdown

The committee first sought records from The People’s Forum in September 2025 and expanded its investigation to BreakThrough News and Tricontinental in February 2026.After the organizations challenged the requests, lawmakers narrowed their demands in May before issuing subpoenas in July.

The committee sought records involving foreign-linked funding, financial arrangements, communications with Singham and other foreign interests, and information about donors and overseas grants.

Attorneys for BreakThrough News and The People’s Forum formally objected in August, arguing the subpoenas violated First Amendment protections and demanded information beyond the committee’s legitimate legislative authority.

“A witch-hunt is not a valid legislative purpose,” the attorneys wrote in their Aug.7 responses, comparing the investigation to the House Un-American Activities Committee’s investigations of suspected communist influence during the 1940s and 1950s.

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The organizations also accused lawmakers of repeatedly changing the stated purpose of the investigation as they challenged earlier requests.Both left open the possibility of responding if the committee narrowed or revised its demands.

The committee rejected those arguments, maintaining that its investigation concerns the organizations’ finances and structure rather than their political views or journalism.

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