eCrimeBytes.com

eCrimeBytes Nibble #11: An Officer, But Not A Gentleman

Video: https://youtu.be/gtQir2I5KLI 
 
You would think a Naval Officer and a senior government trial attorney would have higher morals than these two.
Stick around to hear a case where these two cyberstalked his ex-wife so badly, SHE (the victim) was arrested!
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #11
Michael Leidel is an active duty naval officer. His ex-wife separated from him and his cyberstalking started immediately.
Some of the things the complaint accuses him of are:
- Using fake emails to harass employers of his ex wife, to the point she was not hired at a school district.
- He is accused of compromising his ex-wife's accounts.
- Using fake emails to communicate with those compromised accounts to make his ex-wife look mentally unstable, or on drugs, to help his side in the divorce.
During this time Leidel hooked up with Sarah Sorg, a senior government lawyer. Sorg is accused of helping Leidel harass his ex wife.
You have to wonder - does she realize she could be next if she crosses him and they split?
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/18/naval-officer-and-senior-government-trial-attorney-arrested-for-cyberstalking-ecrimebytes-nibble-11/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #10: Swat, Stalk, Dump Body In River

Video: https://youtu.be/xhetrx0-iNc This is wild. A serial swatter and a stalker were arrested after dumping a body in a river!
Who was this taxi driver that appeared to have helped dispose of a body with no questions asked?!
Things must work differently in Manila.
Stick around to hear more about this case.
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #10
According to Manilla police, Mir Islam helped his friend Troy Woody Jr. dispose of his roommate and romantic interest Tomi Michelle Masters.
The pair hailed a driver. Then when the driver arrived the two stuffed a large box into the trunk of the vehicle.
WTF? Did the driver not ask questions?
Now, the driver thought they were going to a local shopping mall, but the pair had the driver stop near a river. The, the two men dumped the box.
Initially I wondered if the driver helped or just pretended to be on his phone the whole time. But after some research it sounds like he turned the pair in.
Inside the box was Tomi Masters, bound, naked, and dead.
Later examination of Woody discovered scratch marks all over his body.
The pair have been arrested and charged with murder in Manilla. I couldn't find much about them after 2019. Maybe they ended up in the same river.
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/17/serial-swatting-stalking-and-body-in-a-river-ecrimebytes-nibble-10/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #9: The Serial Swatter’s Three Stooges

Video: https://youtu.be/xhetrx0-iNc 
 
You can't be a great serial swatter without help. Stick around to hear a story about how three additional conspirators were arrested in connection to our last story!
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #9
In the last nibble I talked about Tyler Barriss, a serial swatter. Barriss was sentenced to 20 yrs for swatting a victim who was accidentally shot and killed by police officers.
It seems Barriss had help. Three individuals were arrested in connection with Barriss:
- Neal Patel
- Tyler Stewart
- Logan Patton
Neal Patel worked with Barriss to SWAT a video game convention. Patel plead guilty and was sentenced time served.
Tyler Stewart was accused of working with Barriss to call in a swat attacks at two high schools. It appears as if the case was dismissed against Stewart.
Logan Patten was accused of hiring Patel to swat individuals and a high school. It appears as if the case was dismissed against Patten.
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/14/three-charged-one-sentenced-for-assisting-serial-swatter-ecrimebytes-nibble-9/ 

eCrimeBytes S 1, Ep 10, Pt 2: Threesomes And Hitmen!

This is part 2!  If you haven't listened to it already, go back and listen to part 1 first!
We will learn about one Spokane, WA doctor’s desire to hurt those he thought got the best of him.  The doctor’s first victim is a former coworker at the center of an internal investigation ending the doctor’s employment.  The doctor’s second victim was his ex wife, but complications with their shared girlfriend, who was still his current girlfriend, thwarted that plan.  Yes, you heard me right.  You won’t want to miss this one.  Settle in and enjoy another episode of eCrimeBytes.
Photo Credit: https://www.hackread.com/doctor-bitcoin-dark-web-hitman/
Do not miss our update about yellow frozen milk!
Photo Credit: https://goodcheapeats.com/can-you-freeze-milk/
 
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YouTube!
This episode can be watched as we filmed it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRNFbZrFUoQ
 
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This is where we will publish our podcast episodes on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEVgQAFtunsi0B4fG4MOfe0diEVpoMqm 
 
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If you are unable to see the pictures we included above on your phone, please go here to see it instead:  https://ecrimebytes.podbean.com/e/ecrimebytes-s-1-ep-10-pt-2-threesomes-and-hitmen
 
Sources:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59829129/united-states-v-ilg/ 
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59881363/united-states-v-ilg/ 
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/former-spokane-doctor-sentenced-eight-years-federal-prison-after-paying-dark-web 
https://www.hackread.com/doctor-bitcoin-dark-web-hitman/
https://www.databreaches.net/doctor-paid-60k-in-bitcoin-to-hire-dark-web-hitmen/
Chapters: 
 
0:00 Intro
0:52 Music
1:15 Back To Our Case!
5:29 The Scar215 Account
7:29 A Complaint Is Filed
8:20 The Superseding Indictment
11:02 Witness Tampering Too?
11:45 Ron Pleads Guilty
18:10 Burrrrrrn The Evidence!
19:05 Sentencing
21:15 Moral Of The Story And Conclusion
25:45 How To Contact Us
27:41 Music
28:02 Light It! Light It!

eCrimeBytes Nibble #8: Three Sentenced In Fatal Swatting

Video: https://youtu.be/-1QKwthSzLU 
 
This case has it all: gamers, wagers, and swatting.
Unfortunately, it also ended someone's life.
What started as a $1.50 wager on Call Of Duty turned into an innocent father of two's last night. Stick around to briefly hear about this case.
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #8.
Shane Gaskill and Casey Viner had an argument over a $1.50 wager in the online game Call Of Duty.
Viner wanted payback, so he enlisted the help of Tyler Barriss, a serial swatter.
Swatting is the act of calling in a false emergency to get a forceful police response. In this case the SWAT call was an active shooter with at least one dead.
When the police arrived, the innocent father was leaving his house. He was shot a single time and died.
Barriss plead guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Viner plead guilty and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Gaskill was originally given probation but when he violated it he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/13/three-sentenced-in-fatal-swatting-attack-ecrimebytes-nibble-8/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #7: Police Databases Used For Evil

Video: https://youtu.be/0-Sk0BiZcH4 
 
Sagar Steven Singh and Nicholas Ceraolo were charged federally for breaching a law enforcement only database and extorting victims in it.
They are also accused of stealing access to a police officer's email account to target social media companies. Want to know why? Stick around for this brief video about this case.
Hi and welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #7!
In this case Singh and Ceraolo were first accused of using a law enforcement only database to target victims, threatening to release the personal information online. This is also known as doxxing.
Specifically they are accused of:
"accessing a restricted database maintained by a federal law enforcement agency that contains (among other data) detailed, nonpublic records of narcotics and currency seizures, as well as law enforcement intelligence reports"
In addition, the pair are accused of using an officer's email address to contact social media companies with emergency requests for users' personal information.
Singh was arrested in March of 2023, but Ceraolo remains at large.
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/11/two-charged-for-impersonating-police-officers-to-extort-victims/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #6: The Dark Web Tax Pirates

Full Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GosvfbvDa8w 
It's tax season and with that stick around to hear a quick story about how eight individuals made off with over $4m in fraudulent tax returns.
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #6!
There is an interesting twist in this tax fraud case.
Andi Jacques, Monika Jenkins, Louis Michel, Jeff Propht-Francisque, Dickenson Elan, Michael Poix, Vladimyr Chereles and Louisaint Jalteus are accused of breaching tax preparation services. The government claims the group purchased web server credentials to the tax preparation services off the dark web. Once in, the government claims the group exported thousands of tax returns, which gave them the information to begin filing over 9000 bogus tax returns.
The enterprise claimed more than $36 million in false tax refunds over the course of approximately four years. The actual loss amount is still being calculated but is at least $4 million.
If you enjoyed this eCrimeBytes electronic crime update, you will probably enjoy our longer format podcast. I will link the playlist of our longer podcast here and at the end of this video. See you on the next one!
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/10/group-of-cybercriminals-breached-tax-preparers-stole-data-and-filed-millions-of-dollars-of-fraudulent-returns/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #5: You Had Me At ”Boo #Boo”

Full Episode: https://youtu.be/Vri9peHUcuw 
Ever wonder where stolen identities come from and what happens with them? Stick around to hear how over thirty conspirators stole thousands of identities to make over $9 million dollars of the $22million they tried for.
 
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #5! 
I had to read this case when the ring leader was named "Boo Boo". William Anthony Gosha III, aka "Boo Boo", was the ring leader of a multi million dollar stolen identity tax refund scheme. With his co-conspirators, Boo Boo filed over 8,800 tax returns claiming over $22m in fraudulent refunds. The IRS paid out approximately $9m.
Stolen identities came from many sources. Data came from conspirator insiders at:
- Alabama Dept of Corrections Inmate Info
- Commercial Companies
- Alabama Dept of Public Health
- Alabama Dept of Human Resources
- Ft Benning Hospital, so data for military personnel, including soldiers deployed to Afghanistan
Conspirators opened sham tax preparation businesses with IRS EFINs to file returns. They also received blank check stock. When financial institutions stopped the group's ability to print checks, the group bribed several postal employees to intercept fraudulent tax refund checks to various addresses. Mind blowing!
A mother of a young U.S. Army soldier who was an identity theft victim described the consequences of the fraud on her and her family, stating:
While [my son] was fighting for our country and all back home, I received a very disturbing phone call from [an] Agent from the IRS that my son, while at Ft. Benning training to defend our country, the land of the free, had his identity stolen and fraudulent tax returns were filed with his social security number. This news was devastating to think that my 19-year-old son, who was defending the very freedom this country stands [for], was wronged by one of those people [he] was willing to die for. My whole family could not believe what was happening. We now had to worry about this terrible act by one of our own. As I tried my best to keep composed and handle all of the gruesome mounds of paperwork to get this straightened out with the IRS, [my son] was then denied his tax refund [as result of this scheme]. This created a financial hardship on [him]. We were too afraid to tell [him] while he was deployed because we did not want to worry him and we wanted him to focus only on getting home alive and not have to worry about such an atrocious act by someone who did not even know [him].
Boo Boo was sentenced to 30 years while his conspirators were sentenced to a 15 year prison range.
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/09/anthony-boo-boo-gosha-and-thirty-conspirators-sentenced-for-multi-million-dollar-stolen-identity-tax-refund-fraud-scheme/ 

eCrimeBytes Nibble #4: Four For ID Theft In Florida

Ever wonder what is done with stolen identities? Stick around through this video to hear how four criminals tried to make off with a $2.3m profit from more than 1,600 stolen identities.
Full Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmiex9SjEtg
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GWNw5rvGgjjV0OaOqcdfQ?sub_confirmation=1
eCrimeBytes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEVgQAFtunsi0B4fG4MOfe0diEVpoMqm
Welcome to eCrimeBytes Nibble #4!
Wolf Obin, Stanley Moscova, Rosny Muller and Leonard Obin found themselves in possession of thousands of stolen IDs. In order to monetize the stolen data, the group filed for EFIN numbers using "staw" EFIN holders. EFINs are electronic filing identification numbers from the IRS. EFINs allowed this group to file tax returns in other people's names. In this case, the "other" people were the thousands of victims in the stolen ID data.
Eventually, law enforcement caught up with this group.
On Oct 14, 2016 a jury found all three guilty.
Then on Jan 6, 2017:
- Wolf Obin was sentenced to 64 months 3 yrs supervised release,
- Leonard Obin was sentenced to 30 mos, 3 years.
- Muller was sentenced to 33 months, 3 years supervised release.
- Moscova was sentenced to 60 months, 3 years supervised release.
If you enjoyed this eCrimeBytes electronic crime update, you will
probably enjoy our longer format podcast. I will link the playlist of
our longer podcast here and at the end of this video. See you on the next one!
Further Reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/08/four-fl-defendants-sentenced-for-identity-theft-and-tax-fraud/
#ecrimebytes #electronic #truecrime #podcast #humor #funny #comedy #idtheft #irs #taxfraud

eCrimeBytes Nibble #3: FEMA IT Staff Gone Wild

Video: https://youtu.be/ex3FdsWuSGU 
Ever wonder how so many identities are stolen? Stick around for this short video about how one FEMA IT employee breached a medical center's employee database and sold it on the dark web.
Justin Sean Johnson was arrested for hacking into the human resource databases of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in 2014, stealing personal data on more than 65,000 current and former UPMC employees, and selling the data on the dark web.
Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh allege that in 2013 and 2014 Johnson hacked into the Oracle PeopleSoft databases for UPMC, a $21 billion nonprofit health enterprise that includes more than 40 hospitals.
The stolen data also included federal form W-2 data that contained income tax and withholding information, records that prosecutors say Johnson sold on dark web marketplaces to identity thieves engaged in tax refund fraud and other financial crimes. The fraudulent tax refund claims made in the names of UPMC identity theft victims caused the IRS to issue $1.7 million in phony refunds in 2014.
On May 5, 2021 Johnson plead guilty and on 10/15/21 he was sentenced to 5 years for one count, and 2 for another count, to run consecutively.
Further reading: https://drkeithjones.com/index.php/2023/04/07/fema-it-staff-arrested-in-id-theft-tax-refund-fraud/