Paul Ventura, 59, and his son Mateo Ventura, 18, live in Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In 1981, Paul graduated from Wakefield High School on Farm Street in Wakefield.
Mateo is accused of participating in a gift card fraud scheme. He used the profits to support the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS), according to Joshua Levy, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
According to investigators, Mateo gave multiple gift cards to the person he believed was an ISIS supporter with the intention that the gift cards be sold on the dark web with a little less than face value to make a profit. The earnings were donated to the terrorist organization for the war on what they refer to as kuffar or disbelievers.
On August 3, 2021, Mateo started communicating with a person he believed was an ISIS supporter, who was actually a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The teenager exchanged messages with the undercover FBI employee on an encrypted messaging app used by ISIS supporters to communicate their support for ISIS and to plan attacks.
On August 4, 2021, Mateo said he wanted to provide monetary support to ISIS and sent the undercover agent an audio file that contained a recording of his so-called pledge of allegiance to the ISIS leader. On August 5, 2021, Mateo shared a redemption code for a Google gift card worth $25 to sell on the dark web and send the profits to ISIS.
Between August 2021 and August 2022, Mateo provided 26 gift cards that totaled $965 for stores such as Amazon, Gamestop and Playstation Network with the intent that the money from the resale or redemption would be used to support ISIS. Between January 2023 and May 2023, he donated at least $705 in total to support the terrorist organization.
On June 8, 2023, Mateo was arrested by FBI agents and Wakefield Police Department officers. He appeared in federal court in Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, who ordered him held pending a detention hearing.
“My son said, ‘Dad, I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything wrong’,” Paul told WCVB. “I’m like, ‘You sure?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, 100%.’ I opened the door and they said, ‘Your son’s under arrest’.”
If convicted, Mateo faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He was charged with one count of knowingly concealing the source of material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.
CONAN Daily 