-Published: Thursday, October 17, 2019-

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
 
A U.S. 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. That was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Illinois.

The 34-year-old man, surnamed Lawing, of Lincolnton, North Carolina, has been sentenced to serve 18 months behind bars for his role as the CEO of ABC Repair Tech from 2015 to 2016. Lawing pleaded guilty a year ago to a one-count felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, Lawing’s company was affiliated with another fraudulent tech support business in South Florida known as First Choice Tech Support, which later changed its name to Client Care Experts. Both firms purchased pop-up advertisements that would appear suddenly on a person’s computer screen, according to prosecutors. The pop-ups were made to look like system warnings and falsely informed the victims that serious problems, such as viruses or malware, had been detected on their computers. Often, the pop-ups caused the person’s internet browser to freeze up and stop responding. The pop-ups also typically warned the victims not to shut down their computers or else they would lose all their data. Instead, the ads directed them to call a toll-free number, where they were connected to sales representatives who continued the fraud, prosecutors said, adding:.

The sales representatives at ABC Repair Tech and Client Care Experts would convince the victims to grant them remote access to their computers where they highlighted normal computer functions and routine processes as evidence of serious computer problems. Victims were never told that the pop-ups that had hijacked their computers were just advertisements purchased by the tech support company, or that in most instances they could make the pop-ups go away simply by rebooting their computers. Instead, they were sold remote “tune-ups” for $250 and anti-virus protection software for another $400. If victims balked at the steep prices, the sales representatives would offer them a discount for being a senior citizen or a military veteran or something else.

From 2013-2016, the two companies, ABC Repair Tech and Client Care Experts, combined to defraud more than 40,000 people, according to prosecutors.

Victims were located in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, several U.S.  territories,  all  10  Canadian  provinces,  the United  Kingdom,  and  several  other foreign countries. At least 57 victims of the scams were residents of the Southern District of Illinois, representing 22 of the district’s 38 counties, including St. Clair and Madison. That's why the case was prosecuted there. All told, the two companies took in over $25 million.

In handing down the 18-month sentence, Chief U. S. District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel explained that the need to deter other would-be scammers was a big factor in her decision. “The
general public needs to see that this kind of crime is taken seriously,” she said.

As part of his sentence, Lawing was ordered to pay back over $266,000 in restitution to ABC Repair Tech victims, a figure that represents 10 percent of the roughly $2.6 million in actual losses incurred by more than 10,000 victims during Lawing’s tenure as the company’s top executive.

Evidence presented in court showed that Lawing himself made only about $90,000 from the scam. The bulk of ABC Repair Tech’s fraudulent earnings were reportedly reinvested in the company.

Lawing’s sentence comes just one week after Client Care Experts’ Vice President, surnamed Wasik, 36, of Oakland Park, Florida, was sentenced to 125 months in prison and ordered to pay over $10 million in restitution, as A.M. Costa Rica reported. Wasik pleaded guilty to count one of a 14-count superseding indictment earlier this year.

Two former owners of Client Care Experts, surnamed Seward, 32, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, and another, surnamed McCormick, 46, of Delray Beach, Florida, also pleaded guilty to their role in the conspiracy and are due to be sentenced on Nov. 18.

U.S. Judge Joe Billy McDade from the Central District of Illinois, who presided over Wasik’s case, will also conduct the sentencings of Seward and McCormick.

Since April 2017, 14 other employees of Client Care Experts and ABC Repair Tech have also pleaded guilty to federal fraud violations in the Southern District of Illinois They are surnamed Aievoli, Bachman, Broad, Stocker-Cortez, Crowell, Davidson, Dougherty, Espenshade, Iannaccone, Ludena, McCart, Miller, II, Richardson and Swinson.

More information on this case, can be reached at U.S. Justice Department site.



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Have you heard of tech support services calls on behalf of Client Care Experts, ABC Repair Tech or First Choice Tech Support? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com

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