$500,000 Lost in Internet Dating Scam

(Colorado, U.S.A.) Widow loses $500,000 after falling for fake 'military lover' in internet dating scam

A grieving widow has lost $500,000 of her life savings and her home after being taken in by an Internet dating scam.

Esther Ortiz-Rodeghero, 55, decided to look for love online after she lost her husband and thought she had hit the jackpot with a suave military man on the website, seniorpeoplemeet.com.

Instead it was a fraudster who convinced her to continually fork out money which Mrs Ortiz-Rodeghero wired all over the world from her home in Castle Rock, Colorado.

She had started to look for love online last October after her husband David Rodeghero died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 52.

She told ABCNews.com: 'After seeing a therapist I was advised maybe I should go on a dating website and meet new people ... because I was depressed.'

The 55-year-old came across a site called seniorpeoplemeet.com.

It was there that she met a man called Wayne Jackson, a handsome, dark-haired man wearing fatigues who said he was an Army general. He claimed he was based in Iraq but wanted to retire and come home to America.

She said: 'I was so blinded by it, because if you were to read some of the emails he would send me, this man was romancing me.' "Together. We're going to be happy together. You're the woman of my dreams." Things that a woman who is hurting for attention and love would want to hear.'

A month into the romance, he began to ask for money.

WEB OF DECEIT
Esther Ortiz-Rodeghero received hundreds of emails from 'Army general Wayne Jackson' with subject lines that began casually - 'Hi Honey' - but became more and more intense - 'You Will Always be In My Heart', 'We Can Do Anything' and 'Until The End Of Time'.

One gushing email reads: 'Dear Esther, We are meant to be together for the rest of our lives, this we know. Each night is spent dreaming of your face and wishing you were next to me. I love you with my entire being. Meeting you was fate. Forever Yours, Wayne Jackson.'

At first she sent $500 after he explained that his American bank account had been frozen and he couldn't sort it out in person because he was in Iraq.

He then told her of his plans to start a shipping business when he came back from service and asked her to help him with the start-up fees so they could run it together.

Mrs Ortiz-Rodeghero sent him $100,000.

She said: 'All the time he kept telling me, "I'll pay you back, I'll pay you back. I'll take care of you, don't worry."

During the entire relationship, they didn't once speak on the phone 'because of security reasons'.

She continued to send more and more money, using up her savings, her husband's life insurance and her 401k. The scam has left Mrs Ortiz-Rodeghero with nothing and to add to her worries, she recently lost her job as a financial analyst after working 17 years for the same firm.

Her house is in foreclosure and she has declared bankruptcy.

The 55-year-old went to her local police department in Castle Rock who has since filed a report to the FBI.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has been set up by the government to try to stamp out this kind of web crime. (Backlogged 8+ years as of this writing)

The agency said the most vulnerable to the scams are those over 40, divorced, widowed, disabled or just lonely.

In April, it posted specific advice for those who become involved in online dating. It includes warnings to be careful of suitors who declare their 'undying love', tell harrowing stories of family tragedy or ask for money too quickly.

In more serious cases, victims who have agreed to meet in person with an online love interest have been reported missing, injured, or in one instance, dead.

The site seniorpeoplemeet.com, also warned against taking potential dates at face value.

It tells users not to wire money and be wary of those who talk about 'destiny' or 'fate' and claim to be from the U.S. but working or travelling abroad.

Mrs Ortiz-Rodeghero now says she will stick to dating the more traditional way.


original article found here

SOUNDS LIKE NATHAN ERNEST BURL THOMAS, JR.

Jailed for Cyber-Inviting Men to Girl's Home for Anonymous Sex

(Warwickshire, U.K.) A jilted boyfriend has been jailed for using the web to invite men to his ex-girlfriend’s home for sex and “rape fantasies”.

Khalid Hussain created bogus profiles on dating and swinging websites and posed as his victim, asking for no-strings sex.

Over six months last year, the court heard more than 100 men knocked on her door for sessions they thought she had arranged. One thought he had been invited to take part in a rape role play. He hit the victim in the face and began to grab her before ­realising something was wrong.

Hussain, 30, was jailed for two years and nine months after he admitted harassment.

Judge Paul Farrer QC told him: “You carried out a campaign of ­humiliation and terror. Your behaviour was persistent, calculated and sinister.”

Warwick crown court heard Hussain met his victim on a dating website in October 2009. They had a brief relationship but she dumped him soon after. Soon, he posed as another man to get risque photos from her and posted them on Facebook.

He also bombarded her with 500 abusive emails and texts, including one saying: “I’m going to have fun now. Wait and see, you’ll get knocks on your door.”

Prosecutor Robert Hodgkinson said: “She received over 100 visits at night from men who knocked on her door saying they had been conversing with her by email and were responding to invitations by her to visit for sex. One had been led to believe that she wanted to be ‘raped’ and when he arrived, in accordance with instructions, he hit her in the face and went to grab her.

“Clearly he quickly realised everything was not as he had expected and after she remonstrated with him, he drove off."

Hussain also made a hoax call to police claiming his victim was running a drug factory from her Warwickshire home. And he called the RSPCA claiming the woman’s daughter mistreated her pet dog.

In a statement, she said: “It has been a living nightmare for me having strangers knocking at my door and opening it to be greeted by angry men who think it is me who has been setting them up.”

Hussain, of Walsall, was given a restraining order and also made to serve six months of an earlier suspended sentence.

original article here
At least one of our exposed cyberpaths tried to do this to his victim on MySpace.

Let this article warn:
1. Online Dating is NOT safe.
2. Sending 'naughty' pictures to someone, even if you think you can trust them, is NOT a good idea.

- EOPC

Couple Uses Online Dating to Extort Money

At least 7 people were victims of extortion by a couple from Toledo through online dating phone service scam.

Kevin Zunk and Tonya Blaze were able to extort money of more than $10,000 by luring their victims to send sexual photos and messages to a phone number. They then told their victims that those messages were received by an 11 year old child and this is when the extortion happens. The victims would then paid the couple a large sum of money in order for them not to call the police.

One of their victims from Florida called the FBI after he sent money to Kevin and Tonya. The couple is now facing federal extortion charges.

original article here

Couple Uses Online Dating to Extort Money

At least 7 people were victims of extortion by a couple from Toledo through online dating phone service scam.

Kevin Zunk and Tonya Blaze were able to extort money of more than $10,000 by luring their victims to send sexual photos and messages to a phone number. They then told their victims that those messages were received by an 11 year old child and this is when the extortion happens. The victims would then paid the couple a large sum of money in order for them not to call the police.

One of their victims from Florida called the FBI after he sent money to Kevin and Tonya. The couple is now facing federal extortion charges.

original article here

Man Enlists Other Man Online to Rape His Wife

A man used the online advertising service Craigslist to enlist another man to rape his wife in the couple's home, police said Wednesday.

The 25-year-old North Carolina man faces first-degree rape and other charges. The press is not naming him to avoid identifying his wife, a victim of sexual assault.

His wife called police early Sunday morning and said a man with a knife raped her in the bedroom of their home in Kannapolis, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, authorities said. Her husband was in the room, police said. Their two young children were also home, but were unaware of what was happening, authorities said.

The husband sought someone in the ads to come to his home and have sex with his wife using "scare tactics," police said. It was without her knowledge or consent, police said.

Authorities are still investigating the identity of the man who attacked the woman and it wasn't known if the husband paid him to do it. The woman was not seriously injured, but was treated at a hospital and released.

Investigators turned their suspicions to the husband after his statement didn't add up and because there were no signs the attacker broke into the home. The husband was jailed Wednesday on $200,000 bond.

"We share the public's horror that such a crime was committed, and our heart goes out to the victim," said Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best.

The online classified site had been criticized for its "erotic services" section, which Craigslist agreed to do away with last month after a Boston medical student, deemed "the Craigslist killer," was charged with killing a woman he met on the site.

A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced last month to 29 years in prison for raping a woman who advertised in the section.

SOURCE

Man Enlists Other Man Online to Rape His Wife

A man used the online advertising service Craigslist to enlist another man to rape his wife in the couple's home, police said Wednesday.

The 25-year-old North Carolina man faces first-degree rape and other charges. The press is not naming him to avoid identifying his wife, a victim of sexual assault.

His wife called police early Sunday morning and said a man with a knife raped her in the bedroom of their home in Kannapolis, about 25 miles northeast of Charlotte, authorities said. Her husband was in the room, police said. Their two young children were also home, but were unaware of what was happening, authorities said.

The husband sought someone in the ads to come to his home and have sex with his wife using "scare tactics," police said. It was without her knowledge or consent, police said.

Authorities are still investigating the identity of the man who attacked the woman and it wasn't known if the husband paid him to do it. The woman was not seriously injured, but was treated at a hospital and released.

Investigators turned their suspicions to the husband after his statement didn't add up and because there were no signs the attacker broke into the home. The husband was jailed Wednesday on $200,000 bond.

"We share the public's horror that such a crime was committed, and our heart goes out to the victim," said Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best.

The online classified site had been criticized for its "erotic services" section, which Craigslist agreed to do away with last month after a Boston medical student, deemed "the Craigslist killer," was charged with killing a woman he met on the site.

A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced last month to 29 years in prison for raping a woman who advertised in the section.

SOURCE

MySpace Date? And a Home Invasion!

Jason Barker is a hardworking St. Clair Shores guy who thought he'd try meeting a nice girl on MySpace.

Instead, as a kind 24-year-old woman from Oak Park chatted with him during their first date at a Chili's restaurant, police say her accomplice was cleaning out Barker' s Downing Street home Dec. 1.

Now charged with two counts each of home invasion and conspiracy are the woman, April Evelyn, and Vernon Henderson, 26, of Mount Clemens, according to police.

"I don’t really go out, I don’t go to the bars much," Barker said today. "Some of my friends had met people on MySpace, so I just figured I’d give it a shot."

Barker said everything seemed normal from the start, but Evelyn insisted she pick him up for the date at his home. Barker didn't think anything of her chatting on the phone and texting during dinner.

But police say Evelyn unlocked a window when she used the bathroom at Barker's home, then called Henderson to let him know how much time he had to steal from the place.

"She told him they just ordered their food, so he knew he had time," St. Clair Shores Police Detective Sgt. Dave Centala said. "He actually contacted her and said he was done and she ended the date, and said 'Something’s come up I’ve gotta go.'"

The kicker -- she had Barker pay for dinner.

"And she asked me for $10 for gas," he said. "I’m just glad they caught them."

The pair was arraigned in 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores Wednesday. If convicted of home invasion, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

original article here

MySpace Date? And a Home Invasion!

Jason Barker is a hardworking St. Clair Shores guy who thought he'd try meeting a nice girl on MySpace.

Instead, as a kind 24-year-old woman from Oak Park chatted with him during their first date at a Chili's restaurant, police say her accomplice was cleaning out Barker' s Downing Street home Dec. 1.

Now charged with two counts each of home invasion and conspiracy are the woman, April Evelyn, and Vernon Henderson, 26, of Mount Clemens, according to police.

"I don’t really go out, I don’t go to the bars much," Barker said today. "Some of my friends had met people on MySpace, so I just figured I’d give it a shot."

Barker said everything seemed normal from the start, but Evelyn insisted she pick him up for the date at his home. Barker didn't think anything of her chatting on the phone and texting during dinner.

But police say Evelyn unlocked a window when she used the bathroom at Barker's home, then called Henderson to let him know how much time he had to steal from the place.

"She told him they just ordered their food, so he knew he had time," St. Clair Shores Police Detective Sgt. Dave Centala said. "He actually contacted her and said he was done and she ended the date, and said 'Something’s come up I’ve gotta go.'"

The kicker -- she had Barker pay for dinner.

"And she asked me for $10 for gas," he said. "I’m just glad they caught them."

The pair was arraigned in 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores Wednesday. If convicted of home invasion, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

original article here