Missouri man used $218K from identity theft on gambling and drugs, DOJ says

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A Missouri man who stole $218,000 during an identity theft scam spent the cash on gambling and drugs, authorities said. 

Michael Worsham, 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said.  His illegal activities ran from October 2019 to November 2021, a period in which he took out multiple bank loans in the names of victims and stole checks that he then cashed, federal authorities said.  MY HUSBAND CAPT. DAVID DORN WAS MURDERED IN 2020 RIOTS. HIS KILLER HAD HELP DIVIDING AMERICA

The Justice Department in Washington D.C. Missouri man allegedly used hundreds of thousands of dollars obtained through identity theft to gamble and buy drugs, the DOJ said.  (Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images)

Worsham admitted to investigators to using the money to purchase a 2015 Ford Mustang, a black Chevy Avalanche and a 2021 Suzuki motorcycle. He also paid a friend to use a stolen identity to buy a 2021 Honda motorcycle. He unsuccessfully tried to buy a $17,841 Ford Mustang GT, federal prosecutors said.  In July 2021, he allegedly deposited four checks that were altered for a total of more than $50,000 and opened an account in the name of a business and deposited two checks totaling more than $32,000, according to the DOJ.  In June 2021, Worsham told Missouri police officers he used stolen identities that he purchased online to take out loans. Authorities estimate he committed $200,000 in fraudulent activity.  He faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. He is slated to be sentenced in November.

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U.S. Teacher’s Letters Censored in Russian Prison, Family Says

An American teacher jailed on drug charges in Russia is being kept from communicating to his family freely, his family told CNN on Wednesday.

Marc Fogel, 61, was last month found guilty of large-scale drug acquisition, manufacture, smuggling and possession and sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony. Fogel’s family says he was carrying cannabis for medical reasons to treat chronic back pain.

He was detained passing through customs at a Moscow airport in August 2021, when 11 grams of marijuana and eight grams of hash oil was reportedly found in his luggage.

Fogel’s sister Anne Fogel said no one has heard his voice since his detention and only received Russian-language letters translated by his cell mates.

“Everything goes through the censors. It’s harrowing,” she told CNN.

“He says what he wants in English, someone translates for him, one of his cellmates, and depending on how good their English is is how accurate of a picture we get of what is happening,” Fogel added.

“It’s very convoluted and it’s incredibly worrisome because we can’t really have an honest conversation.”

Fogel’s family is now pushing the U.S. State Department to declare him wrongfully detained, a designation applied to basketball star Brittney Griner, who is on trial on similar drug charges in Moscow.

“We are always weighing those developments against the criteria to determine whether an American is wrongfully held or not,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said, adding that the agency is continuing to learn more about the circumstances of his detention.

Fogel had worked at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow until May 2021, acccording to the Russian authorities. He then apparently took up a teaching job at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.

“This is a person who has served the American diplomatic community in schools all over the world for well over the majority of his career,” Anne Fogel told CNN. “I need my president and first lady to stand up for him. He needs to come home.”

Fogel is among several Americans currently held in Russian prisons amid bilateral tensions, with Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan most prominent among them.

Another ex-Marine, Trevor Reed, was in April exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was convicted in the U.S. on drug smuggling charges.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/u-s-teachers-letters-censored-in-russian-prison-family-says/?feed_id=3222&_unique_id=62e2280ac7798