Six Orlando-Area Residents Indicted For Conspiracy Involving Impersonating Homeland Security Agents And Wire Fraud

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the return of a 25-count indictment charging John Pierre Mack III (25, Kissimmee, former member of the Florida National Guard), Ronnie Rolland Montgomery (28, Orlando), David Augusta Jones, III (26, Orlando), Dillon McDowell (25, Orlando), Amaryllis Pagan (19, Kissimmee), and Ashley Ferrell (26, Orlando) with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. Mack, Montgomery, and Jones are charged with 24 counts of wire fraud. Ferrell, McDowell, and Pagan are charged with 13, 9, and 4 counts of wire fraud, respectively. The maximum penalty for each count is 20 years in federal prison.

 

According to the

, from at least August 1, 2015, through July 6, 2017, these individuals were part of a criminal organization that was demanding money from victims by claiming to be agents with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and/or the Cyber Crimes Center (C3). Typically, the victims had responded to an online dating post and engaged in a conversation and exchange of photos with a female that they believed was an adult. The victims were later contacted by schemers posing as “agents,” who alleged that the female from the dating post was under the age of 18. The “agent” would claim that they had an arrest warrant for charges of soliciting a minor and would then direct the victim to make payments for “fines” and “penalties,” in lieu of being arrested. To further their scheme, the “agents” sent paperwork to the victims displaying the DHS seal, a judge’s name, and legal terms related to child exploitation. The schemers utilized email addresses containing variants of “child exploitation” and “cyber crimes center” in their correspondence. The victims were then directed to retail locations where they were to wire money to pay these “fines” or “fees,” and the defendants then took turns picking up the payments. The defendants also traded victims with each other to continue the scheme and to get more money. The victims, many of whom were members of the military or elderly, sent multiple extortion payments, ranging from $200 to $1,900 per transaction, fearing that they would otherwise be arrested.

 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

 

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Homeland Security Investigations (San Diego) with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (San Diego) and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE.