InfoCom Corporation

InfoCom Corporation was an American Internet-services and web-hosting company established in 1992 by five brothers of the Elashi family. The business was initially based in Dallas and later moved to Richardson, Texas. Its formation followed an earlier family enterprise, International Computer & Communications Inc., which had been founded in Los Angeles in 1988 to assemble personal computers for customers in the Middle East and provide consulting services. InfoCom expanded that family business into computer sales, Internet access, web hosting, and related technical services. The company primarily served customers in the Middle East and organizations in the United States. At its peak, it reportedly hosted about 500 websites. Its hosting activities included the .iq domain associated with Iraq, as well as websites connected with Muslim organizations in the United States and media, educational, and institutional clients abroad. Organizations identified in reference accounts include the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Islamic Association of Palestine, the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Students Association, Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, the Qatari newspaper al Sharq, and Birzeit University. These relationships later became central to public and government scrutiny of the company. InfoCom was organized and managed as a family-run operation. Bayan Elashi served as chief executive, Ghassan Elashi was vice-president of marketing, Basman Elashi managed logistics and credit, Hazim Elashi managed personal-computer systems, and Ihsan “Sammy” Elashi worked as a systems consultant and sales representative. The company’s business model combined conventional technology commerce with Internet infrastructure and hosting services, including the export of computer equipment. U.S. authorities began investigating the company in the late 1990s amid broader inquiries into organizations and individuals alleged to have links to Hamas. The company’s financial and personal connections also attracted attention: government investigations examined investments made by the wife of Mousa Abu Marzook, a Hamas political figure designated by the United States as a terrorist financier, and examined the Elashi family’s relationships with organizations under investigation. These allegations were disputed and became matters in criminal proceedings rather than merely commercial criticism. On September 5, 2001, a multi-agency law-enforcement operation searched InfoCom’s offices in Richardson. Agents seized business records, computer equipment, and digital material, while the company’s bank account was frozen and restrictions were placed on overseas shipments. The action occurred shortly before the United States designated and closed the Holy Land Foundation in December 2001, contributing to intense public attention around InfoCom and associated organizations. The company and its founders were subsequently prosecuted. The brothers were convicted in 2004 on conspiracy charges involving the Export Administration Regulations and Libyan sanctions controls. Additional proceedings addressed money laundering, false statements, and the alleged transfer or channeling of funds connected with Abu Marzook. In April 2005, a jury found several of the brothers and InfoCom responsible for conspiring in connection with the transfer of funds through an investment made by Abu Marzook’s wife. On October 13, 2005, InfoCom received a two-year probation sentence. Because the company was already defunct and could no longer operate normally after the government action, the sentence effectively marked the end of the business. InfoCom and Ihsan Elashi were also reported on the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Persons List, with a listed expiration date of June 29, 2056. InfoCom is therefore remembered less as a surviving technology brand than as a small regional Internet-services provider whose hosting and export activities became entangled in a major U.S. national-security and sanctions investigation. No current operating business, parent company, or active consumer-facing product line is documented in the supplied sources.

The Elashi family entered the computer business in 1988, when it founded International Computer & Communications Inc. in Los Angeles. That company assembled personal computers for customers in the Middle East and provided consulting services. After members of the family moved to the Dallas area, they established InfoCom Corporation in 1992 as a related but distinct technology business. InfoCom operated as a family enterprise in Dallas and later Richardson, Texas. It sold computers and supplied Internet-related services to customers, especially in the Middle East. Its activities developed beyond equipment sales into web hosting and network services. The company eventually hosted approximately 500 websites, including the .iq domain and sites associated with American Muslim organizations, Middle Eastern media, and educational institutions. The company’s leadership was divided among the five brothers: Bayan led the business as chief executive, Ghassan oversaw marketing, Basman handled logistics and credit, Hazim managed personal-computer systems, and Ihsan “Sammy” worked in technical consulting and sales. The company came under federal scrutiny in the late 1990s. Investigators were examining the Holy Land Foundation and other organizations alleged by U.S. authorities to have relationships with Hamas. InfoCom’s hosting customers, the affiliations of some executives, and investments associated with Mousa Abu Marzook’s family became part of that investigation. Public reporting also connected the investigation to information found in the address book of Wadih el-Hage, a former associate of Osama bin Laden, although those wider investigative connections did not by themselves establish that every InfoCom service or customer was unlawful. On September 5, 2001, agents from the FBI, U.S. Customs, the Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department, and local police searched InfoCom’s offices. The operation lasted several days. Authorities collected large quantities of paper records and copied data from company computers. Offices sublet to the Holy Land Foundation were searched at the same time. The Commerce Department subsequently restricted InfoCom’s overseas shipments, and the company’s bank account was frozen. These measures severely disrupted the business. The legal case included allegations that InfoCom had violated export controls and Libyan sanctions through shipments of computers and a printer. Prosecutors also pursued financial allegations concerning investments made by Abu Marzook’s wife. In July 2004, all five brothers were convicted on conspiracy charges involving the Export Administration Regulations and Libyan Sanctions Regulations. According to the supplied reference material, all except Ihsan Elashi also received money-laundering convictions. In April 2005, a jury additionally found Bayan, Ghassan, and Basman Elashi, together with InfoCom, responsible for conspiring in connection with a transfer of funds involving the investment. On October 13, 2005, the corporation was sentenced to two years’ probation. Since the company had already ceased functioning after the raid and enforcement actions, the sentence effectively confirmed its closure. InfoCom and Ihsan Elashi were later listed on the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Persons List. The company has no documented current website, active management, public listing, or operating parent. Its historical significance lies in the intersection of early commercial web hosting, Middle Eastern technology services, export controls, and a prominent U.S. federal investigation into alleged terrorist financing.

• 2005

  Probation sentence and effective closure

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  InfoCom received a two-year probation sentence, by which time the company was already defunct.

• 2004

  Founders convicted

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The five brothers were convicted on conspiracy charges related to U.S. export and Libyan sanctions regulations.

• 2002

  Criminal charges filed

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Federal criminal proceedings were brought against the corporation and members of the Elashi family.

• 2001

  Government raid and account freeze

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  A multi-agency operation searched InfoCom’s offices, seized records and computer data, restricted exports, and froze the company’s bank account.

• 1992

  InfoCom Corporation founded

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Bayan, Ghassan, Basman, Hazim, and Ihsan Elashi established InfoCom after moving their operations to the Dallas area.

• 1988

  Elashi family enters the computer business

  [1]InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  International Computer & Communications Inc. was founded in Los Angeles to assemble personal computers for Middle Eastern customers and provide consulting services.

A family-run Texas technology provider serving Middle Eastern customers and institutional organizations through computer sales, consulting, Internet connectivity, and web hosting.

• Internet services

  Web hosting

  InfoCom operated a web-hosting business that reportedly supported approximately 500 websites at its peak. Its historical hosting portfolio included the .iq domain and websites for organizations, media outlets, and educational institutions in the United States and abroad.

• Computer hardware · 1992

  Computer sales and exports

  The company sold personal computers and related equipment, with a customer base concentrated in the Middle East. Its hardware activities also included international exports, which later became the subject of U.S. export-control and sanctions prosecutions.

• Professional and technical services · 1992

  Internet and computer consulting

  InfoCom combined technical consulting with Internet services and computer support. The business was structured to provide technology infrastructure and assistance to institutional and commercial customers rather than to operate primarily as a consumer electronics retailer.

• 2005

  Financial-transfer conviction and corporate probation

  A jury found InfoCom and several Elashi brothers responsible for conspiracy involving a financial investment associated with Abu Marzook’s wife. The corporation was later sentenced to two years’ probation.

  Source

• 2004

  Export and sanctions convictions

  The corporation and its five founders were convicted in proceedings involving conspiracy to violate U.S. export regulations and Libyan sanctions controls. Several founders also received money-laundering convictions.

  Source

• 2001

  Federal raid and alleged terrorist-financing connections

  InfoCom’s offices were searched after federal investigators examined alleged connections among the company, its executives, associated organizations, and Hamas-related fundraising. The action resulted in the seizure of records and computer data, an export restriction, and a bank-account freeze.

  Source

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• 2005

  Corporate probation sentenceOther

  Background

  InfoCom had been convicted in proceedings involving export controls, Libyan sanctions, and alleged financial transfers.

  Action taken

  The corporation was sentenced to two years of probation.

  Aftermath

  Because InfoCom was already defunct, the sentence effectively left the company closed and without an operating business.

  Source

• 2001

  Government action halted overseas operationsOther

  Background

  Following the September 2001 search, U.S. authorities investigated the company’s exports and alleged financial relationships with organizations and individuals under scrutiny.

  Action taken

  The Commerce Department barred InfoCom from shipping goods overseas and the company’s bank account was frozen.

  Aftermath

  The enforcement measures severely disrupted the business and contributed to its eventual shutdown.

  Source

1. 1InfoCom Corporationen.wikipedia.org