Spoofed Caller Id Prosecutions
1. United States v. David J. Dewalt (2012)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, Ohio
Facts: Dewalt used spoofed caller IDs to impersonate IRS agents and threatened victims with arrest unless they paid fake tax debts.
Legal Issue: Violations of the Truth in Caller ID Act, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Outcome: Dewalt was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution to victims.
Significance: First high-profile case applying the Truth in Caller ID Act to IRS impersonation scams.
2. United States v. Raul Castellanos (2015)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, Florida
Facts: Castellanos operated a call center that spoofed local numbers to trick victims into purchasing worthless tech support services.
Legal Issue: Caller ID spoofing, wire fraud, and violations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules.
Outcome: Castellanos was sentenced to 5 years in prison and forfeited equipment and profits.
Significance: Demonstrated that commercial fraud using spoofed numbers is aggressively prosecuted.
3. United States v. Kenneth Lawson (2018)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, California
Facts: Lawson used spoofed numbers to impersonate banks, convincing victims to transfer money to his accounts.
Legal Issue: Wire fraud and violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act.
Outcome: Lawson received 6 years in federal prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $1.2 million.
Significance: Highlighted the combination of spoofing and financial fraud as a serious federal offense.
4. United States v. Kevin Nicholson (2017)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, New York
Facts: Nicholson spoofed local hospital numbers to obtain personal health information from victims for identity theft purposes.
Legal Issue: Caller ID spoofing, identity theft, and wire fraud.
Outcome: Nicholson was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and fined heavily.
Significance: Showed that spoofing can be linked to data theft and identity fraud, not just financial scams.
5. United States v. Luis Ortiz (2019)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, Texas
Facts: Ortiz spoofed utility company numbers to trick victims into paying fake overdue bills. He targeted hundreds of victims across multiple states.
Legal Issue: Wire fraud, caller ID spoofing, and interstate fraud.
Outcome: Sentenced to 7 years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution exceeding $2 million.
Significance: Demonstrated large-scale consumer-targeted spoofing scams are prioritized by federal prosecutors.
6. United States v. Michael Jensen (2020)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, Illinois
Facts: Jensen ran a robocall operation using spoofed numbers to sell fake COVID-19 cures during the pandemic.
Legal Issue: Caller ID spoofing, wire fraud, and violations of federal pandemic-related fraud statutes.
Outcome: Jensen received 6 years in federal prison and forfeited over $500,000 in assets.
Significance: Showed how spoofing can be combined with public health crises to commit fraud.
7. United States v. Emmanuel Okeke (2016)
Jurisdiction: Federal Court, New Jersey
Facts: Okeke spoofed numbers to impersonate law enforcement and court officials, extorting victims for fake fines and fees.
Legal Issue: Wire fraud, caller ID spoofing, and extortion.
Outcome: Okeke was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison and required to pay restitution of $1.5 million.
Significance: Highlighted that impersonating authorities via spoofed numbers is treated severely under federal law.
Key Takeaways from Spoofed Caller ID Cases:
Legal Basis: Mainly prosecuted under the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, combined with wire fraud, identity theft, and extortion statutes.
Severe Penalties: Sentences range from 4 to 8 years, with significant restitution obligations.
Diverse Targets: Victims include individuals, banks, hospitals, utilities, and government agencies.
Complex Scams: Often combined with phishing, identity theft, or pandemic-related fraud.
Federal Priority: Large-scale, multi-state, or high-dollar scams are aggressively prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
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