80,000 pounds of heartbreak and more

80,000 pounds of heartbreak

A search for love on dating app Tinder ended in heartbreak for four women who matched with Peter Gray, an alleged con artist from West Yorkshire, England. Gray secured approximately 80,000 pounds ($99,955) in loans using the women’s names without their knowledge.

One victim says she learned Gray had used her driver’s license and bank cards to take out 9,000 pounds worth of loans. She says that Gray took pictures of her driver’s license and bank cards while she was using the bathroom at his apartment. Another victim discovered that Gray also used her driver’s license to acquire a 10,000-pound loan just two days before she planned to move into her new house. Her mortgage fell through because of the fraud.

Gray was sentenced to 56 months in prison in February. (See “Romance fraudster defrauded women of £80,000,” by Deena Campbell, Lauren Ferguson and Lucy Fesmer, BBC, May 6, 2024.)

Suspected fraudster’s chief of staff pleads guilty

Yvette Wang, former chief of staff to accused fraudster Guo Wengui, pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in May to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say Wang played a pivotal role in her boss’s alleged investment scheme that cheated thousands of his social media followers out of more than $1 billion. Wang agreed to pay $1.4 billion in restitution and forfeit another $1.4 billion. She faces a 10-year prison sentence.

Last year, Guo was arrested at his Manhattan penthouse for allegedly soliciting and misappropriating funds from his social network. Those funds were supposed to be invested in his media company GTV. However, prosecutors say Guo funneled the money into a risky hedge fund, expensive properties and luxury items. Guo claimed GTV was worth $2 billion and sold approximately $452 million of GTV stock to 5,500 investors. His trial started in May. [See “Guo Wengui chief of staff Yvette Wang pleads guilty to $1 billion fraud conspiracy in New York,” by Dan Mangan, CNBC, May 3,2024 and “United States v. Yvette Wang, S4 23 Cr. 118 (AT),” U.S. Attorney Southern District of New York, May 2, 2024.]

She sells (allegedly) stolen human remains

A former Arkansas mortuary worker pleaded guilty in April to stealing human remains she was supposed to cremate and selling them to a man she met in a Facebook group. According to U.S. prosecutors, Candace Chapman Scott was among several charged in a nationwide scheme to steal and sell body parts from Arkansas Central Mortuary Services and Harvard Medical School.

Scott pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. Scott could face 10 years in prison for transporting stolen property and 20 years for mail fraud.

According to the FBI, between October 2021 and July 2022, Scott packaged 24 boxes of human body parts and sold them to Jeremy Pauley, the Pennsylvania man whom she met via Facebook. Paule pleaded guilty last year to charges stemming from the case. (See “Arkansas woman pleads guilty to selling 24 boxes of body parts stolen from cadavers,” AP, April 25, 2024.)