A Wakefield man was sentenced to more than four years in prison Thursday in connection with a plan that helped to fund ISIS.
Mateo Ventura, 21, was sentenced to 50 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of concealment of financing terrorism, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.
Ventura provided multiple gift cards to a person he believed was an ISIS supporter, intending that the cards be sold on the internet for slightly less than face value, prosecutors said. The proceeds were to be used to support ISIS.
Ventura was arrested in June 2023 and pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2025.
According to court documents, Ventura said he wanted the money to go to ISIS “for war on kuffar,” a term referring to non-believers.
Ventura believed the funds from the sold gift cards would be used to buy ammunition and explosives, prosecutors said. He also expressed a desire to fight alongside ISIS and had purchased airline tickets in an attempt to travel to join the group, according to authorities.
Between January and May 2023, Ventura contributed a total of $705 to ISIS causes, prosecutors said.
