18-year-old arrested for allegedly trying to help fund ISIS in its war on disbelievers through sales on the dark web

An 18-year-old from Wakefield, Massachusetts, was arrested for allegedly attempting to help fund the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIS, as he allegedly hoped to help them wage war on non-believers.

The United States Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts announced that Mateo Ventura, just 18-years-old, was arrested for allegedly trying to help what he thought was an ISIS supporter raise funds for the terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Ventura allegedly provided multiple gift cards to a would-be ISIS supporter, for the alleged purpose of selling the gift cards on the dark web. The gift cards, which would allegedly have been provided to the terrorist supporter for free, would then be sold on the dark web for a price slightly below face value. The profits could then be used to support ISIS.

Ventura allegedly stated that he hoped proceeds would go to ISIS “for war on kuffar” (disbelievers), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. In total, he is alleged to have donated $705 between January and May 2023, with the intention that it would support ISIS.

The young man was charged with knowingly concealing the source of material support or resources that he intended to go to a foreign terrorist organization. This crime carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison or up to a lifetime of supervised release. A fine of up to $250,000 is also possible.

A stabbing outside of Vancouver, Canada, was recently revealed to have been an act connected to ISIS-terrorism. The suspect, Abdul Aziz Kawam, allegedly stabbed a Coast Mountain bus passenger in the neck, at random, and without provocation, according to police.

Kawam was initially charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon, and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose. However, prosecutors reportedly later added four counts of terrorism, alleging that Kawam attacked Canadians "for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group, to wit: the Islamic State."

That was the second stabbing in the region in a little over a week, as a man was stabbed to death outside of a Vancouver Starbucks coffee shop approximately eight days prior.

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