Naval Captain Sentenced To Prison For Cyberstalking And Identity Theft

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information on October 25^th:

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Navy Captain Theodore E. Essenfeld was sentenced in federal court today to 37 months in prison for cyberstalking and stealing the identity of his former girlfriend. 

“Today’s sentencing marks the end of this perpetrator’s reign of cyber terror,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Cyberstalking is not just a nuisance or harmless prank; it’s a serious crime with devastating consequences. The torment this victim endured has profoundly impacted her life, and those who think they can hide behind a screen should know that justice will prevail.

During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Huie acknowledged the ordeal of the victim, saying, “I commend her courage and strength for coming forward.”

Essenfeld was convicted by a federal jury in June. During the four-day trial, the United States presented evidence that Essenfeld created imposter Facebook, LinkedIn, email, and cellular phone accounts using the woman’s name, biographical information, and photographs without her knowledge or consent. Posing as the victim, Essenfeld posted erotic and sexually explicit content to the Facebook account, as well as graphic media files or “memes,” many of which were sexually demeaning to women. 

In addition to the materials posted on the imposter Facebook account, the United States presented evidence that Essenfeld joined Facebook dating groups using the imposter account and interacted with numerous other Facebook users while impersonating the victim, including “liking” other users’ posts, sending messages with kissy-face emojis, and sending group messages. Essenfeld linked the imposter Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to the victim’s prospective employer by following and engaging with the prospective employer’s social media accounts. He also linked the fake accounts to other aspects of the victim’s life by “liking” posts by her former co-workers, her university, the U.S. Navy, and fitness studios she previously attended.

Over 1,200 Facebook users ultimately became “friends” with the imposter account, including the victims’ former colleagues. The evidence showed that the victim reported the imposter account to Facebook more than 400 times, but Facebook refused to take down the account because it appeared more authentic than the victim’s actual account due to the volume of images and level of Essenfeld’s engagement on the platform.

Even after Essenfeld became aware of the investigation, and he was arrested and released on bond, he continued his cybercrime spree by creating new “fan club” pages on Wikipedia and WikiAlpha, and “fan club” accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube that presented as if they were operated by a “fan” of the victim. Essenfeld used these fan club accounts to continue to post images and content about the victim. Prior to trial, U.S. District Judge Robert Huie ordered that bond be revoked and Essenfeld be taken into custody based on the fan club accounts. At sentencing, Judge Huie found that Essenfeld should be held accountable for the fan club accounts and considered them as relevant conduct for Essenfeld’s sentencing.

“Mr. Essenfeld betrayed his oath to the Navy and has been held to account for his calculated and cruel campaign to stalk, harass, and intimidate his victim,” said Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Carter of the NCIS Southwest Field Office. “Cyberstalking is a felony-level crime that has no place within the ranks and we remain committed to exposing those who torment their victims online.”

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sabrina Feve and Michael A. Deshong. 

New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty To Computer Hacking And “Sextortion” Scheme Involving Multiple Female Victims

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

A New Hampshire man pleaded guilty today to remotely hacking into the online accounts of almost a dozen female victims and sending them threatening online communications, in some instances containing sexually explicit photos, in order to force the victims to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves. 

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Emily Rice of the District of New Hampshire and Resident Agent in Charge Holly Fraumeni of the U.S. Secret Service’s Manchester, New Hampshire, Field Office made the announcement. 

Ryan J. Vallee, 22, formerly of Belmont and Franklin, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to a 31-count superseding indictment charging him with 13 counts of making interstate threats, one count of computer hacking to steal information, eight counts of computer hacking to extort, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of cyberstalking.  On March 16, 2016, while Vallee was awaiting trial, he was re-arrested on new criminal charges and has remained in custody since then.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1, 2016, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, from 2011 through March 2016, Vallee, using various aliases that included “Seth Williams” and “James McRow,” engaged in a computer hacking and “sextortion” campaign designed to force numerous victims to provide him with sexually explicit photographs of themselves and others.

Vallee admitted that he employed a variety of techniques to force his victims to cede to his “sextortionate” demands.  For example, according to the plea agreement, he repeatedly hacked into and took control over the victims’ online accounts, including their email, Facebook and Instagram accounts.  Once he had control of these accounts, Vallee locked the victims out of their own accounts and, in some cases, defaced the contents of the accounts, he admitted.  According to the plea, in at least one instance, Vallee hacked into a victim’s Amazon.com account, which stored her payment information and shipping address, then ordered items of a sexual nature and had them shipped to the victim’s home.  Vallee also admitted that in some instances, he obtained sexually explicit photos of the victims and their friends and distributed them to the victims, their friends and their family members.  With at least one victim, Vallee created a Facebook page using an account name that was virtually identical to the victim’s real Facebook account name, with one letter misspelled, he admitted.  He then posted sexually explicit photos of the victim on this fake Facebook page and issued “friend requests” to the victim, her friends and her family members, according to the plea agreement.

Vallee admitted that he repeatedly sent threatening electronic communications to his victims, usually by using spoofing or anonymizing text message services, in which he threatened his victims that unless they gave him sexually explicit photographs of themselves, he would continue with the above-described conduct.  According to the admissions in the plea agreement, when most of the victims refused to comply with Vallee’s demands and begged him to leave them alone, Vallee responded with threats to inflict additional harm.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Belmont Police Department.  Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire are prosecuting the case.

Victims of “sextortion” schemes such as this often may be hesitant to come forward.  The Justice Department encourages individuals who may be the victims of similar schemes to contact their local law enforcement agencies to report this conduct. 

FBI: Sextortion and Cyberstalking - How a Single Tip Uncovered an International Scheme

The FBI released the the below report:

The investigation that uncovered a far-reaching sextortion scheme by a U.S. State Department employee at the U.S. Embassy in London all started with a single complaint by a young victim in Kentucky. She went to the police.

“The victim basically was saying that she was being cyberstalked by some guy who got into her e-mail and was threatening to expose compromising photos of her to her friends and family,” said FBI Special Agent Andrew Young, who interviewed some of the hundreds of victims targeted by Michael C. Ford, a former State Department civilian employee who was sentenced last month to nearly five years in prison for hacking into the e-mail accounts of young women to extort them.

According to the facts of the case, between January 2013 and May 2015, Ford—while working in London—posed as a member of a large web company’s “account deletion team” and sent out e-mails to thousands of women warning them that their e-mail accounts would be deleted if they didn’t provide their passwords. Ford then used the passwords he received to hack into victims’ e-mail and social media accounts to search for nude and topless photos and personal information like contacts and addresses.

He hacked into at least 450 e-mail accounts and admitted e-mailing at least 75 women, threatening to circulate their compromising pictures unless they sent him more.

Following the initial complaint in Kentucky, local police reached out to the FBI in Louisville, where agents traced the source of the e-mails to a State Department server in London. The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) began an internal probe that led to Ford and uncovered the massive hacking, cyberstalking, and sextortion scheme. Young said the investigation showed Ford spent the bulk of his time at work using a government computer to “extort women, hack into their e-mail accounts, and threaten them.”

The FBI’s primary role in the investigation was interviewing victims across the U.S. to build a case. “They were angry,” said Young, who worked the case out of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office, which had jurisdiction because Ford had Georgia residency. “Somebody steals your most private pictures out of your computer, then comes back and threatens you with it. They felt compromised.”

At Ford’s March 21 sentencing, prosecutors presented evidence of another scheme he started several years earlier, in 2009. Posing as a talent scout, Ford combed through websites where aspiring models posted their pictures and contact information. He duped young women into sending personal information, including their measurements and dates of birth. “He would send them an e-mail with a link, and when they clicked on the link he got access to their computer and e-mail accounts,” Young said.

Ford, 36, of Atlanta, was indicted August 18, 2015 following his arrest by DSS during a visit to Atlanta. He pled guilty in December.

His plea was due in large part to the voluminous evidence against him, including the statements of victims like the one who came forward in Kentucky.

“There was no getting around it,” Young said. “Witness after witness and a lot of forensic evidence—it made putting him in jail a whole lot easier.”

Former U.S. State Department Employee Sentenced To 57 Months In Extensive Computer Hacking, Cyberstalking And “Sextortion” Scheme

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

A former U.S. State Department employee was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for perpetrating a widespread, international e-mail phishing, computer hacking and cyberstalking scheme against hundreds of victims in the United States and abroad.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia, Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office made the announcement. 

Michael C. Ford, 36, of Atlanta, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross of the Northern District of Georgia.  On Dec. 9, 2015, Ford pleaded guilty to nine counts of cyberstalking, seven counts of computer hacking to extort and one count of wire fraud in connection with his ongoing criminal scheme.  The names of the victims are being withheld from the public to protect their privacy. 

According to the plea document, Ford admitted that between January 2013 and May 2015, while employed by the U.S. Embassy in London, he used various aliases to commit a widespread, international computer hacking, cyberstalking and “sextortion” campaign designed to force victims to provide Ford with personal information as well as sexually explicit videos of others.  Ford targeted young females, some of whom were students at U.S. colleges and universities, with a particular focus on members of sororities and aspiring models.

Posing as a member of the fictitious “account deletion team” for a well-known e-mail service provider, Ford sent thousands of phishing e-mails to thousands of potential victims, warning them that their e-mail accounts would be deleted if they did not provide their passwords.  Ford admitted he then used the passwords to hack into at least 450 e-mail and social media accounts belonging to at least 200 victims, where he searched for sexually explicit photographs and for victims’ personal identifying information (PII), including their home and work addresses, school and employment information, and names and contact information of family members, among other things.  Using both the photos and PII, Ford admitted that he then e-mailed at least 75 victims, threatening to release those photos unless they took and sent him sexually explicit videos of “sexy girls” undressing in changing rooms at pools, gyms and clothing stores.

When the victims refused to comply, threatened to go to the police or begged Ford to leave them alone, Ford escalated his threats, according to the plea agreement.  For example, Ford admitted that he wrote in one e-mail “don’t worry, it’s not like I know where you live,” followed by another e-mail with her home address and threatened to post her photographs to an “escort/hooker website” along with her phone number and home address.  On several occasions, Ford followed through with his threats, sending his victims’ sexually explicit photographs to family members and friends, according to the plea. 

Additionally, at sentencing, the government presented evidence that Ford engaged in a related scheme targeting aspiring models beginning in 2009.  Posing as a model scout, Ford convinced young women to send their personal information, to include dates of birth and measurements, as well as topless photos for consideration for fictitious modeling opportunities.  During this ruse, Ford obtained topless and partially nude photos from hundreds of women, including several minors.  He also attempted to entice a minor to take voyeuristic videos of her peers in her school locker room.  Some of his early model-scout victims became the first victims of his charged cyberstalking scheme.

“Michael Ford hacked hundreds of email accounts, particularly targeting young women so he could extort them into sending him sexually explicit images,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “He preyed on vulnerable victims, leaving them with indelible emotional scars.  His sentence is a necessary step in holding him to account for his crimes and helping his victims move forward with their lives.”

“This case unfortunately shows that cyber-stalkers have the ability to torment victims from any corner of the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Horn.  “Hopefully, Ford’s victims can be reassured that he will serve a significant sentence for his conduct.  Members of the public must be extremely careful about disclosing their logins and passwords to anyone, even when the person on the other end of an e-mail or instant message appears to be legitimate.” 

“The Diplomatic Security Service is proud of the hard work of everyone involved in the investigation including our partners at the FBI and the Department of Justice,” said Director Miller.  “When a public servant in a position of trust commits crimes like cyberstalking and computer hacking on such a large scale, we will vigorously investigate those crimes and ensure they are brought to justice.  We hope that this sentence will provide some closure for the victims.”

“Today’s sentencing of Mr. Ford will not only hold him accountable for his despicable criminal conduct but will also deny him the ability to further victimize others,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson.  “The FBI is proud of the role that it played in bringing this case forward for investigation, apprehension, and federal prosecution and it is hoped that those who were victimized by Mr. Ford will find some relief with this sentencing.”

The Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI investigated the case.  Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Trial Attorney Jamie Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamal Ghali of the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in London provided assistance in this case.  

Cyberstalker Sentenced To 10 Years in Prison

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Michael Daniel Rubens, 31, formerly of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, a $15,000 fine and $1,550 in restitution for cyberstalking, unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.  The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher P. Canova for the Northern District of Florida.

During his guilty plea on Dec. 3, 2015, Rubens admitted that, between January 2012 and January 2015, he publicly humiliated dozens of young women by hacking into their online accounts, including e-mail and social media, stealing photographs and other personal information, using the photographs to create pornography and posting the pornographic images on social media websites and on a revenge pornography website that was recently shut down by the FBI.  Rubens engaged in most of the conduct from his residence in Tallahassee.  He used software to conceal his IP address.

Rubens’ victims included an employee of a local restaurant he frequented, an out-of-town colleague, an acquaintance in his office building, clients of the defendant’s employer, a former girlfriend and her colleagues, high school classmates and the victims’ relatives or friends.  For one particular woman, Rubens’ laptop contained 470 files with more than 5,000 references to the victim.  Rubens’ computer searches focused on finding the victims’ personal identifying information, such as past addresses, family information and other personal data that could be used to answer security questions.  As a result of Rubens’ conduct, the victims became afraid to conduct any online activities and often deleted their social media presence entirely.  In some instances, the conduct also damaged the victims’ personal relationships.

Urging leniency, Ruben’s counsel argued that, unlike bank robbery or drug dealing, cyberstalking was not something people thought of as a serious crime.  U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle for the Northern District of Florida responded, “Perhaps it’s time they learned.”

“This sentence sends an unequivocal message to anyone tempted to use a computer as a weapon to victimize and steal the identities of others: Expect to be prosecuted.  And expect to go to prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Canova.

“This criminal hacked into social media accounts and tormented women with blackmail and harassment,” said Special Agent in Charge Susan L. McCormick of Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Tampa Field Office.  “His crimes demonstrate how predators use the Internet to target innocent victims and ruin lives.  With the help of victims and our law enforcement partners, like the Florida State University Police and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, HSI will find these predators and hold them accountable.”

This case resulted from investigations by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida State University Police Department, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Beaton.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.