Grimy Times can exclusively report that a 37-year-old Oklahoma inmate has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for his role in a prison-based phone fraud and extortion scheme that netted over $674,100 from a Connecticut resident.
According to court documents, Darrick Forsythe, along with other inmates at Lawton Correctional Facility, used smuggled cellular phones to befriend gay men on phone-based chat lines. The inmates then used false promises and threats to induce the men to send them cash or prepaid debit cards, ultimately victimizing several men across the country.
The scheme, which began in February 2011 and continued until October 2011, saw Forsythe and his accomplices obtain a total of $674,100 from a single Connecticut resident. The victim, who befriended an individual named ‘Joe’ on Megamates, a phone-based dating service, was eventually coerced into sending thousands of dollars to the inmates.
As the scheme progressed, the inmates demanded increasingly larger sums of money, with some demands reaching as high as $5,000 or more per week. The victim ultimately depleting his family’s $670,000 inheritance, which he managed as custodian, before taking his own life in 2014.
Forsythe was arrested and charged in April 2014, and subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his sentence, Forsythe was ordered to pay full restitution to the victim’s family.
Forsythe has been serving a 20-year sentence for robbery since 2002, and his federal sentence will begin at the conclusion of his state sentence. This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat of prison-based phone scams, and the devastating impact they can have on innocent victims.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Secret Service, Connecticut Resident Office, with assistance from the Secret Service’s Oklahoma field offices, the Lawton, Oklahoma resident agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick of the District of Connecticut, with the assistance of members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Grimy Times will continue to follow this story and provide updates as more information becomes available.
**If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a prison-based phone scam, please contact the National Center for Victims of Crime at 1-855-484-2846 or visit victimsofcrime.org for resources and support.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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