Five Charged in Online Romance Scams Targeting Seniors

Rhode Island woman among the victims of scams that netted more than $2 million

PROVIDENCE – Two individuals from Houston and three from the Atlanta area have been charged in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., with allegedly participating in online romance scams that bilked more than two dozen people, most of them elderly, out of more than two million dollars.

It is alleged in Court documents that beginning in May 2015, victims were contacted by scammers via online dating sites such as Plenty of Fish, Christian Mingle, and Our Time, and through social media platforms such as Words with Friends, often times feigning romantic intentions. The perpetrators of the scams gained the trust of their victims through any number of fraudulent representations, eventually convincing them to send money to bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy.

To date, 28 individuals in more than a dozen states have been identified as falling victim to the scams allegedly employed by the five individuals named in the charged conspiracy.

United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman commented, “It is unconscionable to prey on seniors. Scammers will confuse, lie to, and steal from their victims with total disregard for the financial and emotional ruins they leave behind. Elder abuse is a serious crime that impacts 10% of elder Americans each year. The Department of Justice and federal, state, and local law enforcement have made it a priority to root out such scammers and hold them accountable.”

“When scammers pose online as legitimate romantic partners only to manipulate victims into giving away their life savings, it creates devastating financial impacts to victims, especially our older Americans,” said Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division.  “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting our citizens and working hard to seek prosecution of scammers who take advantage of our elders.”

According to court documents, among the victims is a 76-year-old widow from Rhode Island who refinanced her home, sold property she owned in Massachusetts, and withdrew funds from bank accounts, over time sending more than $660,000 to bank accounts allegedly controlled by members of the conspiracy. The woman told investigators she reluctantly made the transfers at the direction of “General Mathew Weyer,” who claimed to be stationed with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, and whom she met online on Words with Friends.

An investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office and United States Postal Inspection Service determined that “General Mathew Weyer” is a fictitious person and name allegedly used by members of the conspiracy when communicating with the victim.

On Monday, Rhode Island U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond ordered the alleged leader of the conspiracy, Wisdom Onyobeno, 39, of Sandy Springs, GA, to remain in federal custody and be returned to Rhode Island. Onyobeno was arrested at his Georgia home on November 19, 2019, on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Rhode charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; mail fraud; and wire fraud.

Also charged by way of criminal complaints with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; mail fraud; and wire fraud are Dominique Golden 28, and Sadae Mills, 24, of Houston, Breauna Williams, 25, of Atlanta, and Syretta Scherer, of Sandy Springs, GA.

Mills and Golden were charged by way of an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Providence on October 3, 2019,  with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, nine counts of mail fraud, and six counts of wire fraud. They were arraigned in U.S. District Court in Providence on October 30, 2019, and released on bond.

Syretta Scherer was arrested on November 19, 2019, and made an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She was released on bond.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Breauna Williams.

An information and indictment are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise M. Barton, Elder Justice Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.

Combatting elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority of the Department of Justice. If you are a victim or know a victim of elder fraud, you can call 1-877-FTC-HELP or go to ftc.gov/complaint. For downloadable Elder Abuse Prevention resources and for information about community outreach programs in Rhode Island, visit the United States Attorney’s Office’s Elder Justice Initiative web page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/elder-justice

United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, thank the FBI, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in Atlanta for their assistance related to this investigation.

Former Operator of Illegal Booter Services is Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Computer Damage and Abuse

WASHINGTON  – An Orland Park, Illinois, resident was sentenced yesterday to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release on one count of conspiracy to cause damage to internet-connected computers for his role in owning, administering and supporting illegal booter services that launched millions of illegal denial of service, or DDoS, attacks against victim computer systems in the United States and elsewhere.

Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Sergiy P. Usatyuk, 21, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  Usatyuk also was ordered to forfeit $542,925 in proceeds from the scheme, as well as dozens of servers and other computer equipment that facilitated the scheme and/or constitutes its proceeds.

According to the criminal information, Usatyuk combined with a co-conspirator to develop, control and operate a number of booter services and booter-related websites from around August 2015 through November 2017 that launched millions of DDoS attacks that disrupted the internet connections of targeted victim computers, rendered targeted websites slow or inaccessible, and interrupted normal business operations. The illegal services included ExoStress.in, (“ExoStresser”), QuezStresser.com, Betabooter.com (“Betabooter”), Databooter.com, Instabooter.com, Polystress.com and Zstress.net.

“The defendant made hundreds of thousands of dollars by launching countless indiscriminate cyber-attacks that victimized various segments of American society,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “The Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners will remain vigilant in protecting the American public from these types of sophisticated, far-reaching threats.”

“DDoS-for-hire services pose a malicious threat to the citizens of our district, as well as districts across the country, by impeding critical access to the internet and jeopardizing safety and security in the process,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “The operation and use of these services to disrupt the operations of our businesses and other institutions cannot be tolerated.  Anyone who weaponizes web traffic in this manner will be vigorously pursued and prosecuted by my office.”

“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s continuous commitment to unmasking malicious actors behind these type of egregious cyberattacks,” said Special Agent in Charge John Strong of the FBI’s North Carolina Field Office.  “By calling out those criminals who hide behind their computer and launch attacks, the FBI is sending a strong message that we will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold all criminals accountable, no matter what weapon they use to terrorize others.”

“Booters” or “Stressers” are a class of publicly-available, web-based services that allow cybercriminals to launch distributed DDoS attacks that overwhelm a target computer system with unrequested traffic and, in turn, “boot” or “drop” the victim from the internet for a relatively small fee or no fee at all.  To launch a DDoS attack using a booter, a cybercriminal often needs only a web browser and an online payment tool to subscribe to a provider, provide instructions for attacking a victim computer system, and deliver payment.

The DDoS attacks launched by the booters also harmed computer systems that were not directly targeted.  For example, according to the criminal information, in November 2016, a Betabooter subscriber launched a series of DDoS attacks against a school district in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area that not only disrupted the school district’s computer systems, but affected the computer systems of 17 organizations that shared the same computer infrastructure, including other school districts, the county government, the county’s career and technology centers, and a Catholic Diocese in the area.

During the period of the conspiracy, Usatyuk and a co-conspirator gained in excess of $550,000 from charging subscriber fees to paying customers of their booter services and selling advertising space to other booter operators.

Over the past five years, booter and stresser services have grown as an increasingly prevalent class of DDoS attack tools.  Booter-based DDoS attack tools offer a low barrier to entry for users looking to engage in cybercrime.

For additional information on booter and stresser services and the harm that they cause, please visit: https://www.ic3.gov/media/2017/171017-2.aspx.

The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, Raleigh Resident Agency conducted the investigation.  Additional assistance was provide by the FBI’s Chicago and Miami Field Offices, as well as the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Trial Attorney Aarash Haghighat of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Hulbig and Matthew Fesak of the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

Broken Arrow Man Convicted of Online Extortion

A Broken Arrow man pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to extorting a woman by threatening to post nude photographs of her online, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

Ivan David Arroyo III, 27, pleaded guilty to interstate communication with intent to extort. In March 2018, Arroyo sent messages from three Instagram accounts containing nude photographs of the victim. In the messages, he told the victim to send more suggestive photographs of herself or he would post the nudes publicly, thus harming her reputation. The woman refused.

“Disturbingly, sextortion is becoming increasingly more frequent,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Sexual predators extort, manipulate and taunt their victims online hoping the supposed anonymity of the internet will help conceal their identity and their sick crimes. But thanks to brave victims who come forward and the excellent work of law enforcement officials, we are able to follow the digital footprint of these sextortionists and hold them accountable.”

U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan set sentencing for Feb. 10, 2020.

The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Cozzoni is prosecuting the case.