Financial Fraud: Michael Cary Lawing Sentenced For One-Count Felony Information Charging Him With Conspiracy To Commit Wire Fraud

<h2>Another Tech Support Fraudster Sentenced To Prison<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>An American citizen who spent over a year running the day-to-day operations of a fraudulent tech support call center in Costa Rica is heading to prison&period; Michael Cary Lawing&comma; 34&comma; of Lincolnton&comma; North Carolina&comma; has been sentenced to serve 18 months behind bars for his role as the CEO of ABC Repair Tech &lpar;ABC&rpar; from 2015 to 2016&period; Lawing pleaded guilty in October 2018 to a one-count felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to court documents&comma; Lawing’s company was affiliated with another fraudulent tech support business in South Florida known as First Choice Tech Support&comma; which later changed its name to Client Care Experts &lpar;CCE&rpar;&period; Both ABC and CCE purchased pop-up advertisements that would appear suddenly on a person’s computer screen&period; The pop-ups were made to look like system warnings and falsely informed the victims that serious problems&comma; such as viruses or malware&comma; had been detected on their computers&period; Often&comma; the pop-ups caused the person’s internet browser to freeze up and stop responding&period; The pop-ups also typically warned the victims not to shut down their computers or else they would lose all their data&period; Instead&comma; the ads directed them to call a toll-free number&comma; where they were connected to sales representatives who continued the fraud&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The sales representatives at ABC and CCE would convince the victims to grant them remote access to their computers&comma; where normal computer functions and routine processes were highlighted as evidence of serious computer problems&period; Victims were never told that the pop-ups that had hijacked their computers were just advertisements purchased by the tech support company&comma; or that in most instances they could make the pop-ups go away simply by rebooting their computers&period; Instead&comma; they were sold remote &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;tune-ups” for &dollar;250 and anti-virus protection software for another &dollar;400&period; If victims balked at the steep prices&comma; the sales representatives would offer them a discount for being a senior citizen or a <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;category&sol;military-scammer&sol;" title&equals;"military" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"404">military<&sol;a> veteran or something else&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>From 2013-2016&comma; the two companies – CCE and ABC – combined to defraud more than 40&comma;000 people&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Victims were located in all 50 States&comma; the District of Columbia&comma; Puerto Rico&comma; several U&period;S&period; territories&comma; all 10 Canadian provinces&comma; the United Kingdom&comma; and several other foreign countries&period; At least 57 victims of the scams were residents of the Southern District of Illinois&comma; representing 22 of the district’s 38 counties&comma; including St&period; Clair and Madison&period; All told&comma; the two companies took in over &dollar;25 million&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In handing down the 18-month sentence&comma; Chief United States District Judge Nancy J&period; Rosenstengel explained that the need to deter other would-be scammers was a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;big factor” in her decision&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The general public needs to see that this kind of crime is taken seriously&comma;” she said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As part of his sentence&comma; Lawing was ordered to pay back over &dollar;266&comma;000 in restitution to ABC victims – a figure that represents ten percent of the roughly &dollar;2&period;6 million in actual losses incurred by<br &sol;>over 10&comma;000 victims during Lawing’s tenure as the company’s top executive&period; Evidence presented in court showed that Lawing himself made only about &dollar;90&comma;000 from the scam&period; The bulk of ABC’s fraudulent earnings were reportedly reinvested in the company&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Lawing’s sentence comes just one week after CCE’s Vice President&comma; Grand Clark Wasik&comma; 36&comma; of Oakland Park&comma; Florida&comma; was sentenced to 125 months in prison and ordered to pay over &dollar;10 million in restitution&period; Wasik pled guilty to count one of a 14-count superseding indictment earlier this year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Two former owners of CCE&comma; Michael Austin Seward&comma; 32&comma; of Deerfield Beach&comma; Florida&comma; and Kevin James McCormick&comma; 46&comma; of Delray Beach&comma; Florida&comma; also pled guilty to their role in the conspiracy and are<br &sol;>due to be sentenced on November 18&period; The Honorable Joe Billy McDade from the Central District of Illinois&comma; who presided over Wasik’s case&comma; will also conduct the sentencings of Seward and McCormick&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Since April 2017&comma; 14 other employees of CCE and ABC have also pleaded guilty to federal fraud violations in the Southern District of Illinois&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Joseph Ralph Aievoli&comma; IV<&sol;strong>&comma; 26&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Cory Steven Bachman<&sol;strong>&comma; 26&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Andrew Douglas Broad<&sol;strong>&comma; 27&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Director of Training at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Ryan Stocker Carr&comma; 24<&sol;strong>&comma; of Mount Laurel&comma; NJ – Team Leader at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>&nbsp&semi;Joshua Dennis Cortez<&sol;strong>&comma; 38&comma; of Lake Worth&comma; FL – Director of Training at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Erica Marie Crowell<&sol;strong>&comma; 30&comma; of Maple Shade&comma; NJ – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Nicholas James Davidson<&sol;strong>&comma; 27&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>&nbsp&semi;Patrick M&period; Dougherty<&sol;strong>&comma; 36&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Tatum Elyse Espenshade<&sol;strong>&comma; 27&comma; of West Palm Beach&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Eric M&period; Iannaccone<&sol;strong>&comma; 33&comma; of Monroe Township&comma; NJ – Sales Manager at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Anthony Vincent Ludena<&sol;strong>&comma; 30&comma; of Boca Raton&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Robert Thomas McCart<&sol;strong>&comma; 33&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Team Leader at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Timothy James Miller&comma; II<&sol;strong>&comma; 28&comma; of Schwenksville&comma; PA – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>&nbsp&semi;Jonathan Matthew Richardson<&sol;strong>&comma; 28&comma; of Lake Worth&comma; FL – Salesperson at CCE<br>•&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi;<strong>Kyle Evan Swinson<&sol;strong>&comma; 27&comma; of Boynton Beach&comma; FL – Team Leader at ABC&sol;CCE<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><br>Eleven of these additional defendants have been sentenced already&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-table"><table class&equals;""><tbody><tr><td>Date<&sol;td><td>Defendant<&sol;td><td>Prison Sentence<&sol;td><td>Restitution<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Mar&period; 8&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Ryan Carr<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>12 months &plus; 1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;20&comma;384&period;36<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>May 7&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Joshua Cortez<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>18 months<&sol;td><td>&dollar;3&comma;034&period;00<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>June 8&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Patrick Dougherty<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>12 months &plus; 1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;240&comma;966&period;94<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>June 14&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Anthony Ludena<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>12 months &plus; 1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;176&comma;692&period;26<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>June 29&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Nicholas Davidson<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>5 years probation<&sol;td><td>&dollar;181&comma;808&period;40<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>July 26&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Timothy Miller<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>5 years probation &plus; 200 hours<br>community service<&sol;td><td>&dollar;127&comma;042&period;06<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Aug&period; 3&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Tatum Espenshade<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>1 day &plus; 18 months home detention<&sol;td><td>&dollar;132&comma;683&period;68<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Sept&period; 11&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Andrew Broad<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>12 months &plus; 1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;55&comma;238&period;28<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Sept&period; 20&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Jonathan Richardson<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>12 months &plus; 1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;78&comma;638&period;99<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Oct&period; 4&comma; 2018<&sol;td><td><strong>Cory Bachman<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;156&comma;806&period;25<&sol;td><&sol;tr><tr><td>Oct&period; 10&comma; 2019<&sol;td><td><strong>Joseph Aievoli<&sol;strong><&sol;td><td>1 day<&sol;td><td>&dollar;106&comma;355&period;82<&sol;td><&sol;tr><&sol;tbody><&sol;table><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><br>Because the crimes allegedly took place in connection with telemarketing and victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55&comma; the maximum punishment in each case is 30 years imprisonment&period; The defendants could also be ordered to serve up to five years of supervised release and pay a fine of up to &dollar;250&comma;000&period; Under federal law&comma; restitution to identified victims is mandatory&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>These cases are part of an ongoing investigation by the St&period; Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan D&period; Stump&comma; Scott A&period; Verseman&comma; and Ranley R&period; Killian&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The Florida Attorney General’s Office raided CCE in June 2016 and has been cooperating with the federal investigation&comma; in addition to bringing its own civil enforcement action against CCE under Florida state law&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The Federal Trade Commission has been working for some time to shut down illegal tech support scams&period; For more information about the FTC’s &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;2019 Tech Support Takedown&comma;” please visit <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;consumer&period;ftc&period;gov&sol;blog&sol;2019&sol;03&sol;ftcs-tech-support-takedown-2019">https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;consumer&period;ftc&period;gov&sol;&&num;8230&semi;2019<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Some consumers who were victimized by ABC or CCE &sol; First Choice Tech Support have received additional fraudulent calls&period; These calls typically come from companies claiming&nbsp&semi;&nbsp&semi; either &lpar;a&rpar; that the technical support the victims purchased has been transferred to them and additional funds are now needed&semi; or &lpar;b&rpar; that they can help the victims obtain a refund&period;&nbsp&semi;<em><strong>Victims should be advised that no companies have been authorized to provide them with any tech support services on behalf of ABC or CCE &sol; First Choice Tech Support&comma; or to provide them with a refund for any previous purchases&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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