A Long Beach man has admitted in federal court that he sent funds to people he believed were with ISIS and that he built and kept a packed explosive device in his home, leading to federal charges that carry decades behind bars.
A federal plea entered this week details that the defendant admitted to sending multiple payments to suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The plea covers one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The defendant is identified as Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 29, and he has been held in federal custody since August 2025. The records say the timeline began in early 2025 when online messages established contact with someone claiming to be an ISIS fighter living in Syria.
According to the plea agreement, the Syrian contact instructed Villanueva how to get money to him, and Villanueva followed those instructions. Investigators say Villanueva sent roughly a dozen payments totaling more than $1,600, with the understanding the funds would be used to buy ammunition, weapons, and other supplies for ISIS operations.
The filings also say Villanueva discussed conducting operations for the group inside the United States, a detail that elevated concerns and prompted a federal investigation. Law enforcement executed a search of his home in August 2025 that turned up a homemade explosive device.
Officials describe the device as manufactured and packed with ball bearings and other metal objects such as nails, screws, and nuts, items intended to increase lethality. At every relevant time, investigators allege Villanueva knew the item met the federal definition of a firearm and a destructive device and that it was not registered as required by law.
Records show Villanueva was already barred from possessing firearms after a felony stalking conviction in Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2017. That prior conviction made possession of any firearm unlawful, so the alleged bomb in his home created a separate criminal exposure for being a felon in possession.
Judge Anne Hwang has scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 17, when Villanueva faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and up to 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force handled the investigation, and federal prosecutors from the National Security Division are pursuing the case.
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