Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 23
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Eight inmates of South Carolina prisons – three of whom are Bloods gang members – have been charged in a “sextortion ring” that made them at least $144,000 through their solicitation of hush money from victims, federal officials say.
Federal prosecutors say the eight inmates targeted military men through dating apps by using cell phones with internet connections that had been smuggled into the prisons.
Eight inmates in South Carolina prisons have been charged in connection with a "sextortion ring," federal prosecutors say. (doc.sc.gov)
The inmates pretended to be women, and sent nude photos to the victims, prosecutors say. They would then pretend to be the father of an underage girl and threaten to call the police and accuse the victims of soliciting photos from minors, court filings say.
An indictment filed in Florence’s federal court accuses the eight men of accepting more than 70 “fraudulent money transfers” from the victims, Columbia’s The State newspaper reported Monday.
At least twelve other people have been charged, and several others have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme that scammed more than 400 members of the military, prosecutors say. In total, the scheme netted about $560,000 for the eight inmates and their accomplices outside the prison.
FLORIDA PROFESSOR WHO CO-WROTE BOOK ON ORGANIZED CRIME CHARGED WITH MONEY LAUNDERING
Of the eight men charged, two have been convicted of murder, and a third found guilty of assault and armed robbery, court filings say.
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A charge of money laundering carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, while wire fraud carries a sentence of at least a decade in prison.
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