SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina inmate is getting an additional five and a half years in prison after extorting military members in a scheme using dating sites.
Wendell Wilkins, 32, of Spartanburg, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering, for his role in a scheme to extort and defraud military members that was operated out of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC).
According to evidence presented to the court, Wilkins used smuggled smartphones to join internet dating sites posing as young women, eventually targeting and extorting military members.
Posing as these young women, Wilkins sent nude photographs of 'young females' to these members in exchange for nude photographs and personal information. He then posed as the father to these young women, claiming they were underage, thus claiming that these military members were in possession of child pornography. Wilkins and others then threatened to have the military members arrested or dishonorably discharged unless they paid money.
According to the report, from February 2016 - January 2018, Wilkins received at least $74,000.00 in extorted funds, which investigators traced to at least 25 military victims.
According to the SC Attorney's Office, Wilkins was one of many inmates participating in this scheme. More than 300 military members throughout the United States were victims of the scheme, and lost an excess of $350,000. Several military members committed suicide after falling victim to this extortion scheme.
In addition to the prison time, United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Wilkins to 36 months of supervised release to be served after Wilkins completes his 12-year state prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Command (CID), United States Marshals Service, South Carolina Department of Corrections, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart prosecuted the case.
“Nothing good comes from smartphones in prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart. “Inmates use them to commit even more crimes while behind bars. We hope this prosecution helps state officials eliminate and disable contraband phones in prison.”
