Two nonprofits linked to Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham have rejected a congressional ultimatum demanding financial records, accusing lawmakers of targeting their political views and violating their First Amendment rights.

The People’s Forum Inc., an activist hub in New York City, and BreakThrough News, a far-left nonprofit media outlet, responded Tuesday to the House Ways and Means Committee. The committee had threatened depositions if the groups failed to comply with earlier subpoenas.

The People’s Forum described the congressional investigation as a “MAGA-led witch hunt.” BreakThrough News and its supporters contend that the committee is targeting the outlet because of its coverage of Israel and immigration enforcement.

Lawmakers maintain that the investigation concerns the organizations’ finances and structure. The Republican led committee, chaired by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., is investigating whether millions of dollars moving through Singham’s network of nonprofits with tax-exempt status are advancing Chinese Communist Party interests in the United States.

“This approach is tantamount to holding the staff of BreakThrough News hostage,” attorneys for BreakThrough News wrote in their Oct. 20 response. They accused the committee of threatening seven newsroom employees with depositions unless the outlet dropped its constitutional objections.

The attorneys also disputed the committee’s foreign influence allegations, including its reference to Singham, who lives in Shanghai, alongside foreign principals. “Mr. Singham is a U.S. citizen,” the attorneys wrote.

The committee identified Singham among 21 potential witnesses who could face questioning under oath. That list also includes nonprofit executives, activists and journalists associated with the two organizations and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Tricontinental is a Massachusetts-based Marxist think tank that has not publicly released a response to the committee’s latest demands. The People’s Forum, meanwhile, accused lawmakers of threatening depositions against eight staff members in retaliation for the organization asserting its First Amendment rights.

You’ve heard Neville Roy Singham’s name linked to street protests, but the threads of his influence travel much deeper.

When Singham cashed out of his tech giant, Thoughtworks, he sold it for hundreds of millions of dollars to the private equity powerhouse Apax Partners. Singham then turned around and flooded much of that money into financing communist revolutionaries around the world, Meanwhile, Apax acquired the dominant software platforms holding a virtual monopoly on Democratic voter data and campaign infrastructure nationwide. There is something much bigger happening here than a few wealthy donors throwing cash at street activists. This is a deliberate, textbook infrastructure takeover. — Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) October 9, 2026

The committee did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Both BreakThrough News and The People’s Forum used their websites to ask supporters for donations to help pay for their legal defenses.

“This is an escalation of the same MAGA-led witch-hunt,” The People’s Forum wrote in an Oct. 21 statement beneath a graphic declaring, “We won't surrender our First Amendment rights.” Both organizations said the committee had repeatedly changed its rationale and ignored their legal objections, although they remained open to narrower requests.

TPF Responds To Congress: We won’t surrender our First Amendment rights or our civil liberties.

Yesterday, through our attorneys, The People’s Forum responded to House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, after they threatened to drag eight of our staff members to Washington for depositions if we didn’t comply with its demands. This is an escalation of the same MAGA-led witch-hunt. In our response, our attorneys wrote: “Allowing a congressional committee to haul political activists and organizers into deposition rooms to grill them on domestic and foreign policy viewpoints and expression sets a dangerous precedent of state-sponsored intimidation that chills the right to free speech nationwide and infringes on core First Amendment protections.” This fight isn’t only about The People’s Forum. It’s about whether anyone in this country can organize, educate, and speak out without being hauled before Congress for it. We will not be intimidated. We’re in this fight together & we need your support now more than ever! Donate now at https://t.co/xEtxSbRX3T Read the full response from our legal team at https://t.co/3tuNy3SGvM — The People's Forum (@PeoplesForumNYC) October 21, 2026

BreakThrough News has also faced accusations that it sympathetically amplified protests and unrest across Europe. The demonstrations included unrest in France that descended into violent riots, with protesters torching cars and clashing with police.

The Singham-funded outlet promoted an online discussion called “Europe's Youth Uprising,” declaring that “a rebellion is sweeping Europe ” and portraying the demonstrations as a youth movement against rising living costs, austerity and military spending.

Ten press freedom and civil liberties organizations backed BreakThrough News, including PEN America, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists. The organizations accused the committee of targeting political views and warned that forcing journalists to testify could threaten press freedom.

“Rep. Smith's shameless targeting of BreakThrough News for editorial viewpoints that he dislikes shows a complete disregard of the First Amendment,” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement published by BreakThrough News. In an Oct. 20 letter, the groups urged the committee to end its investigation into the outlet and refrain from issuing additional subpoenas.

The committee alleges that Singham moved money through shell companies and donor-advised funds, obscuring the original source of contributions to the three nonprofits. Singham, an American Marxist tech tycoon living in Shanghai, sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017.

A previous Fox News Digital investigation traced at least $278 million from Singham into six core United States nonprofits that served as funding hubs in a broader international network. The investigation described that network as including activist groups, media organizations, and think tanks promoting socialist, communist, and causes supportive of China.

Of that money, $22.44 million went to The People’s Forum, $16.76 million went to Tricontinental, and $1.098 million went to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the parent organization of BreakThrough News. The three organizations received approximately $40.3 million combined, according to the investigation cited by the committee.

Tracing the Capital: The Federal Inquiry into the Singham Financial Ecosystem

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), operating under authorization from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, has convened a federal grand jury to investigate the financial architecture established by Shanghai-based American businessman Neville Roy Singham. The federal probe is examining potential systemic financial crimes including wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering tied to capital allegedly used to fund Marxist ideological programs and organizations supportive of the Chinese Communist Party. By analyzing the network through standard anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks, federal investigators have mapped an intricate flow of roughly $278 million. The investigation’s current focus breaks down into several core operational phases: The Regulatory Catalyst: The investigation escalated following a high-level meeting in New York City between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Bessent delivered a direct ultimatum regarding the role of the GS Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc. in facilitating Singham’s capital transfers, warning of potential conspiracy scrutiny. Following this intervention, Goldman Sachs initiated cooperation with federal investigators. Strategic Enforcement Context: This specific SDNY probe serves as a cornerstone of a broader Trump administration mandate targeting vulnerabilities within the multibillion-dollar U.S. nonprofit sector, aimed at dismantling structural fraud and illicit financial networks. Phase I: Capital Placement Prosecutors allege approximately $278 million was initially inserted into the U.S. financial system via three primary corporate and philanthropic vehicles: * Mutod LLC: $164,040,000 * GS Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc.: $110,376,701 * Likewise Conceptions LLC: $3,500,000 Phase II: Institutional Layering Once placed, the capital was allegedly routed through a network of six 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Investigators have noted overlapping leadership boards prominently featuring Singham’s wife, Jodie Evans, who is also under investigation and unconventional corporate registration addresses: People's Support Foundation Ltd.: $167,540,000 (Established in 2017 with a Chicago hotel address; Evans serves on the board). Justice and Education Fund Inc.: $68,748,701 (Established in 2018 with a NYC UPS Store address; Manola De Los Santos on the board). People's Forum Inc.: $22,440,000 (Established in 2017 in NYC; Evans and De Los Santos on the board). Tricontinental Ltd.: $16,760,000 (Established in 2017 in Massachusetts by Vijay Prashad). CodePink Women For Peace: $1,330,000 (Established in 2009 in California by Evans and Susan Medea Benjamin). Breakthrough BT Media Inc.: $1,098,000 (Established in 2020 at the People's Forum headquarters, operating Breakthrough News under editor-in-chief Ben Becker). Phase III: Operational Integration From the layered nonprofit holding entities, the funds were allegedly integrated into the working budgets of a decentralized activist network. Beneficiaries under scrutiny include the People's Welfare Association, the ANSWER Coalition, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, with operations extending across North America, Central America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Federal prosecutors are currently utilizing grand jury subpoenas to compel the production of banking and structural documents to determine if criminal charges are legally warranted. The Treasury Department, DOJ, and Goldman Sachs have declined public comment, and representatives for the Singham network have not responded to press inquiries. (Data From Fox News, US DoJ Investigations) Credit @AsraNomani ! — Navroop Singh (@TheNavroopSingh) October 22, 2026

The committee said it is examining whether existing tax laws adequately guard the nonprofit sector against foreign influence and whether Congress should strengthen those laws. It has not publicly identified evidence showing that the organizations are concealing information connected to foreign influence.

“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,” Smith said in an Oct. 13 statement.

“Either these organizations turn over the documents, or their leaders will answer the Committee's questions under oath.” Fox News Digital sought an update following the Oct. 20 deadline but had not received a response as of publication.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Conservative Scoop. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.