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SC inmates targeted military members in 'sextortion,' stole $560,000
The inmates pretended to be women on online dating sites. Once they got their victims, they'd tell the service members that they'd just committed a crime.
Columbia, SC (WLTX) — Officials say inmates in South Carolina prisons used contraband cell phones to target military service members across the country in 'sextortion' schemes
Officials say South Carolina inmates, aided by outside associates, identified and targeted military service members through social media and online dating sites. Using fictitious personas, officials say inmates engaged in online romantic relationships with service members, exchanging pictures with the targets and then extorting them for money.
The inmates posed as females to initiate relationships with service members. Once the service members were hooked in and exchanging picture, inmates would then assume the role of the female's father and or police officers. They'd tell the service members that the person they'd been taking to was an underage girl, and that they were in legal trouble. It was at that point that the inmates would demanded money in exchange for not pressing charges.
Fearful they would lose their careers over what they were led to believe was possession of child pornography, officials say 442 service members across the country lost more than $560,000 in the sextortion scheme.
"Every week, we see another example of why cell phones should be blocked," said Corrections Director Bryan Stirling. "[The inmates] are physically incarcerated, but virtually they're out there among us. They're on the internet, they're able to continue their schemes from behind bars and continue their criminal ways."
Stirling has repeatedly pressed Congress to change laws to allow prisons to block cell phones signals of inmates over the years.
In the first phase of "Operation Surprise Party," officials say they indicted 15 people, served 5 arrest warrants and 5 summonses and interviewed 15 inmates in South and North Carolina.
Authorities say more than 250 additional people are being investigated and may also face charges in the scheme.