Teen Accused of Providing Gift Cards to Help Support Terrorist Group

Paul Ventura (L), father of 18-year-old Mateo Ventura, displays a photograph on his cell phone that shows what he describes as a photo of himself (center L) and his son Mateo (R) while speaking with reporters outside federal court in Worcester, Mass., on June 8, 2023. Steven Senne/AP Photo

BOSTON—An 18-year-old Massachusetts man sent gift cards worth a total of $1,670 to someone he thought was a supporter of the ISIS terrorist group that he intended to be used to fund a war on nonbelievers, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Mateo Ventura, of Wakefield, was held pending a bail hearing next Wednesday during an initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Worcester. He is charged with knowingly concealing the source of material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said in a statement.