A Buford woman has been found guilty of orchestrating a scam to cheat seniors across the country and in Canada out of money with the promise of computer virus protection software.
A Gwinnett County jury found Fataoumata Keita, 48, guilty of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act – for getting money from individuals who believed they were purchasing services that block computer malware. She will be sentenced in December.
“Taking advantage of citizens using fake computer services is unconscionable and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “But preying on senior citizens and targeting seniors will not be tolerated.”
Beginning in 2021, Keita and other co-conspirators contacted individuals across the U.S. and Canada and deceived them into believing their computers were malfunctioning so that they could manipulate the selected victims into buying unneeded software or technical assistance. While victims were using their computers, a pop-up screen would appear stating that the device had a virus with a message prompting them to call a 1-800 number.
Co-defendants posing as customer service representatives directed victims whom they convinced to purchase bogus software or service to mail checks to a United States Postal Service post office box in Buford. Often, these checks were more than $1,500, and Keita would direct some of the funds to her co-conspirators in Canada, China and India.
Jurors learned that the conspiracy racked up as much as a million dollars, affecting dozens of victims before it was shut down. During trial, jurors saw bank accounts the defendant controlled that had accumulated at one point more than $450,000 in just over a year’s span.