Orlando, Florida - Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the arrests and filing of a charging Ronnie Rolland Montgomery (28, Orlando) and John Pierre Mack, III (25, Kissimmee, former member of the Florida National Guard) with conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemming from their participation in a criminal organization focused on extorting victims by impersonating agents with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, in 2015, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) (San Diego and Tampa) began investigating a criminal organization that was demanding money from victims nationwide by claiming to be “agents" of Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center (C3). Typically, the victims had responded to an online dating post and engaged in a conversation and exchange of photos with a female that they believed was an adult. The victims were later contacted by schemers posing as “agents," who alleged that the female from the dating post was under the age of 18. The “agent" would claim that they had an arrest warrant for charges of soliciting a minor and would then direct the victim to make payments for “fines" and “penalties," in lieu of being arrested. To further their scheme, the “agents" sent paperwork to the victims displaying the DHS seal, a judge’s name, and legal terms related to child exploitation. The schemers utilized email addresses containing variants of “child exploitation" and “cyber crimes center" in their correspondence.
The victims, many of whom were members of the military, sent multiple extortion payments, ranging from $200 to $1,900 per transaction, fearing they would otherwise be arrested. ICE’s OPR agents launched a nationwide investigation that resulted in the arrests of Montgomery and Mack in connection with this criminal organization. Law enforcement continues to investigate individuals involved in this scheme.
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by ICE OPR and HSI, with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (San Diego) and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE. Prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Southern District of California.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
