Overview

• Federal agents arrested 28-year-old Mark Lorenzo Villanueva on August 1 in Long Beach after the Justice Department filed a criminal complaint charging him with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
• Western Union records show Villanueva wired 12 payments totaling $1,615 over five months to two intermediaries overseas who claimed to be ISIS fighters.
• Investigators recovered what appeared to be a bomb from Villanueva’s bedroom during the arrest, heightening concerns about potential public safety risks.
• Court documents allege Villanueva used social media to pledge allegiance to ISIS and expressed a desire to fight and die for the group.
• A lawful permanent resident from the Philippines, Villanueva faces up to 20 years in prison and remains under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.