Ex-State Dept worker to be sentenced for ‘sextortion’ scheme
Published 9:59 am Monday, March 21, 2016
ATLANTA — Sitting at a desk in the American embassy in London, a former U.S. State Department employee used his government-issued computer to prey on vulnerable young women and manipulate them into sharing nude photos, amassing thousands of images to make himself feel powerful, prosecutors said.
Michael C. Ford, 36, faces years in prison when a federal judge sentences him Monday for sending “phishing” emails to young women, specifically targeting members of sororities and aspiring models, and claiming to be a member of Google’s account deletion team, which doesn’t exist, to get them to hand over their passwords.
While he occasionally used the photos for sexual arousal, it was primarily about power, he told investigators.
“He stated that his wife is the ‘alpha and breadwinner’ in their family, and he was doing this to fill a ‘power void,’” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Prosecutors want a federal judge to send him to prison for eight years while defense attorneys are arguing for much less.