Mass. teen indicted on federal charge in ISIS-supporting gift card scheme

A Massachusetts teenager arrested earlier this year on suspicion of running a gift card-reselling scheme to raise money for ISIS has been indicted in federal court.

Mateo Ventura, an 18-year-old from Wakefield who was arrested in June, raised $705 between January and May by giving gift cards to someone he believed supported ISIS, thinking the cards would be resold on the dark web and the profits sent to the terrorist group, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that a federal grand jury in Boston had indicted Ventura on a charge of knowingly concealing the source of material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Read more: NBC Boston