18-year-old Massachusetts man arrested for raising money for ISIS through the dark web

Ventura appeared in federal court on Thursday before a US District Court magistrate judge.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly trying to raise money for ISIS through a gift card scheme on the dark web.

The subject identified as Mateo Ventura, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, was arrested for “concealing the source of material support or resources that he intended to allocate to a foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS),” according to a statement in the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office released Thursday.

According to authorities, Ventura allegedly provided several gift cards to a person he believed to be an ISIS supporter with the intention that the cards would be sold on the dark web for slightly less than their value.. The proceeds and profits from those sales were intended to support ISIS.

“Ventura allegedly stated that he wanted the proceeds to go to ISIS ‘for the war against the kuffar’ (disbelievers),” the Massachusetts Federal Office said in a statement announcing the charges against Ventura. “In total, it is alleged that between January and May 2023, Ventura donated $705 intended to support ISIS.”

If convicted, Ventura could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.up to a lifetime supervised release, as well as a fine of up to $250,000, authorities added.

So far, Ventura appeared Thursday in federal court before United States District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, although it was not clear when he will appear in court.

“Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the US Sentencing Guidelines and the statutes governing sentencing in a criminal case,” the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office said. , which noted that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, despite “reasonable doubt in a court of law