Joshua Hall, Wire Fraud and Identity Theft, Pennsylvania 2023

A 22-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses for impersonating family members of the then-President of the United States on social media to fraudulently raise funds for a fictitious political organization.

JOSHUA HALL, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, allegedly defrauded hundreds of victims by making false representations in the course of raising funds for a purported political affinity organization, for the ostensible purpose of supporting the reelection of the individual who was at that time serving as President of the United States.

HALL used the funds for his own personal living expenses and obtained thousands of dollars from hundreds of victims located throughout the United States, including in the Southern District of New York.

The scheme devised and executed by HALL yielded more than 100,000 followers on social media and obtained media coverage, a public platform he then exploited to confer on himself and the Fictitious Political Organization a false imprimatur of close ties with the President’s family.

HALL will be presented later today in Harrisburg federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. HALL faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment for wire fraud and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 2 years of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.

The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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