THREE EXTRADITED TO MISSISSIPPI TO FACE FEDERAL FRAUD CHARGES

Gulfport, Miss – Two individuals have been extradited from South Africa and one from Canada in a case that includes defendants in California, Wisconsin, Indiana, and New York, to face charges on a nine-count federal indictment filed in the Southern District of Mississippi involving various internet fraud schemes, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.

The indictment alleges numerous complex financial fraud schemes over the internet, including romance scams, re-shipping scams, fraudulent check scams and work-at-home scams, along with bank, financial, and credit card account take-overs.

The case is alleged to have begun as early as 2001. The investigation was initiated in October, 2011 by Homeland Security Investigation agents in Gulfport after U.S. law enforcement officers were contacted by a female victim in Mississippi who was the target of a romance scam. The victim received a package in the mail requesting that she reship the merchandise to an address in Pretoria, South Africa. The investigation later revealed that the merchandise was purchased using stolen personal identity information and fraudulent credit card information of persons in the United States. Investigators have identified hundreds of victims of this scam in the United States, resulting in the loss of millions of U.S. dollars. Other schemes discovered by the investigation include advance check schemes where a victim receives a check and is asked to deposit it then send money by Western Union, MoneyGram or prepaid credit cards to another person, only to find out later the check is not valid.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, an indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty

INFORMATION FOR VICTIMS AFFECTED BY THE SCHEMES:

1. If you believe you were the victim of criminal fraud committed by any of the defendants, possibly using the below email addresses and/or names, please go to http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/scams and complete the questionnaire.

Email Addresses Used:

REDARMY_TX_HOST@YAHOO.COM                                        MOBICOALZ@GMAIL.COM

RWASSER@ROCKETMAIL.COM                                                FOLLYEDWARDS@YAHOO.COM

RDARWIN322@GMAIL.COM                                                       RDARWIN324@GMAIL.COM

KAREN_ROB01@YAHOO.COM                                                  FAYEKIMBERLY19@YAHOO.COM

FAYEKIMBERLY@YMAIL.COM                                                   TESCOSG@YAHOO.COM

GERVINOJ@YAHOO.COM                                                          GERVINOJ11@GMAIL.COM

JOHNVINO56@GMAIL.COM                                                        RASAQ_ADEROJU@YAHOO.COM

KEVINSMITH3949@YAHOO.COM                                               SMITHKEVIN902@GMAIL.COM

ANITA.LAUREN01@GMAIL.COM                                                 ANITA.LAUREN1@GMAIL.COM

SPOWELL26AL@GMAIL.COM                                                     SPOWELL26AL3@YAHOO.COM

GENTILEMARK186@GMAIL.COM                                               RHULANEF@YAHOO.COM

LMG.ORCHID1827@GMAIL.COM                                                MARK2GENTLE@YAHOO.COM

MATT.MILLER4070@GMAIL.COM                                               JONES_DICKSON@YAHOO.COM

HORLAMI84@YAHOO.COM                                                        MARCHAS1963@GMAIL.COM

OLADIMEJISEUN2008@YAHOO.COM                                        STACYADAMS20009@YAHOO.COM

JUSTIN.WORSHAM@YAHOO.COM                                            OLUWA_NISHOLA@YAHOO.COM

MIMICOLE001@YAHOO.COM                                                     FNCYJEN@YAHOO.COM

FMPLUST12@GMAIL.COM                                                         MAXWELLSAMUEL59@YAHOO.COM

STARENTERPRISE74@YAHOO.COM                                        SUSANV1418@YAHOO.COM

PETERLAWSON5050@YAHOO.COM                                         FEMI_OMORAKA@YAHOO.COM

ADDIEP01@YAHOO.COM                                                           SEGSEA121@YAHOO.COM

GLENNSATTELBERG1961@GMAIL.COM                                 EMPLOYMENTOFFERS007@YAHOO.COM

LLOYDFARELL0012008@YAHOO.COM

Names Used:

Richard Wasser                              Adeline Piper

Glenn Sattelberg                             Folly Edwards

Samuel Maxwell                              Stacy Adams

Regina Darwin                                Justin Worsham

Marlon Chase                                  Karen Robinson

Dickson Jones                                 Mark Miller

Kimberly Faye                                 Mark Smith

Lorene M. Garrett                           John Gervino

Mark Gentile                                  Sarah Powell

Kevin Smith                                   Anita Lauren

The information you provide through the questionnaire regarding your experience may be helpful in the criminal investigation and prosecution of this case. A law enforcement agent may contact you with additional questions or to request documents you may have received or submitted during your dealings with these individuals. To access the questionnaire please go to http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/scams and input the password scams.

Please note that submitting the questionnaire is NOT a substitute for consulting with your own attorney to determine what actions and remedies may be available to you through civil litigation.

2. You may access the website for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi: http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms to obtain more information on the case or the court proceedings. You may also obtain information at http://justice.gov/largecases/.

3. If you have any questions related to this matter that are not addressed at the above websites, you may contact the government at the email address USAMSS.Scams@usdoj.gov.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this fraud. The case in Mississippi will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annette Williams and Scott Gilbert, along with Robert Tully of the Organized Crime Gang Section.