A Georgia felon allegedly posed as an adult film star to target NFL and NBA athletes in a phishing scam and ran a sex-trafficking scheme — coercing a woman into filming sex acts with the top athletes, according to authorities.
Kwamaine Jerell Ford, 34, of Buford, was charged in connection with the elaborate racket, targeting a slew of professional athletes, that he started while in prison in November 2020, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia announced on Monday.
Ford, who was already convicted of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, allegedly obtained login credentials for Apple accounts belonging to NBA and NFL players after posing as a well-known porn star and offering to send them sexually explicit videos, federal prosecutors said.
The scammer also “spoofed” legitimate Apple customer service accounts and posed as an Apple customer support representative to get victims to send their sensitive username and password information to access videos that the fraudulent porn star’s persona was trying to send to athletes, authorities alleged.
Ford then obtained credit and debit card information belonging to the victims and used it toward his own personal spending, prosecutors added.
In May 2021, Ford also allegedly recruited and disturbingly coerced a woman into engaging in commercial sex acts with the pro athletes while still posing as an adult film star, promising her that he could boost her modeling career.
He used additional fake personas to threaten the victim and pressure her to continue having sex with the athletes — which he profited from and coerced her into filming without the athlete’s consent, officials charged.
The athletes targeted in the intricate scheme have not been publicly identified.
“While serving time for stealing credit card numbers from athletes and celebrities to fund his lifestyle, Ford allegedly engaged in the same conduct again,” US Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement.
“Disturbingly, the indictment alleges that Ford went even further and used a fraudulent online persona to traffic a young woman and coerce her to produce hidden camera videos of commercial sex acts with unknowing individuals,” Hertzberg added.
Ford appeared in federal court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of computer fraud, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of sex trafficking.
He was ordered held without bail pending his trial. The case is being investigated by the FBI, authorities said.
“Kwamaine Ford clearly did not learn from his prior conviction for a similar scheme. This time, he allegedly escalated his criminal activity—stealing identities and money while also moving into coercion and sex trafficking,” FBI Georgia Acting Special Agent in Charge Peter Ellis said in a statement.
“The FBI’s dedicated agents remain committed to staying ahead of schemes like this and protecting the public from individuals who exploit and harm others for personal gain.”
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