A Wakefield man recently pleaded guilty to a charge he faced after being accused of trying to help ISIS raise money when he was a teenager, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Mateo Ventura , 20, pleaded guilty on Oct. 15 to one count of concealment of financing of terrorism, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release not made public until Nov. 13, after the federal government reopened from a 43-day shutdown .

Ventura, who was 18 at the time, had been charged by complaint in June 2023 and a federal grand jury indicted him in October 2023.

In June 2023, Ventura gave out multiple gift cards to someone he believed was a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), according to charging documents. Authorities have said Ventura be

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