back to article Mother/daughter team jailed for million-dollar internet dating scam

A mother and daughter have been jailed for over a decade apiece after pleading guilty to money laundering for an internet dating scam that persuaded the gullible that they were helping US troops in search of love. Vasseurs The mother and daughter team muled over a million to Nigerian scammers Karen Vasseur, 63, and …

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  1. ecofeco Silver badge
    Unhappy

    It shows many things

    Mostly, the desperation and injustice of all involved, except for the organizers, who got rich and got away.

    The women duped.

    The crooks who will do more time than the organizers.

    The organizers who got very rich and will do no jail time.

    A travesty all the way around.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: It shows many things

      The banks and money transfer companies who took their fee and didn't ask too many questions

      1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

        Re: It shows many things

        The fact that the real scammers have to hire dupes* like this is evidence that the banks are asking questions. I'm no friend of banks in general but wanting them to ask more questions looks to me like a case of "beware, your wish might just come true".

        *unscrupulous, greedy and probably not to bright but dupes nonetheless.

  2. Cliff

    of anyone wants to learn more or take a stand...

    Scamwarners.com and 419eater.com welcome one and all.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: of anyone wants to learn more or take a stand...

      Yes... I played along to one of these scams and finally got real account numbers and then reported it to police... 419eater is great.

      1. Florida1920
        Mushroom

        Re: of anyone wants to learn more or take a stand...

        I got one of them to FAX his financial details to the US Dept of Justice!

  3. Don Jefe

    WHY do the people who get sent up for really shady scams always look exactly like you imagine someone running a shady scam would look?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      or in this case

      Witch & one of her victims from The Conjouring :-o

      1. Esskay

        Re: or in this case

        The older one looks a bit like Sara Goldfarb.

        "HAROLD, I'M GOING TO BE ON TELEVISION"

    2. dssf
      Joke

      I imagined Vidiians....

      I imagined Vidiians, posing as humans, posing as Agents. The NSA would be proud to conjure up Section 31 to recruit them for samples of The Phage. But then, maybe their are from Gliese, pretending to be humans pretending to be ET pretending to be Vidiians pretending to be an offshot of the Kazon gone wrong?

      Wait, too damned much Trek on the mind....

      Come to think of it, one has Khan's hairdo as his Mobey Dick's "Nohhh, Kurk... Yooo kan't get aWAY from meeee. From Hell's Hot at stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee..."

      Maybe when they saw the agents, the used a page from Shatner?

      The NSA, FBI, Interpol, aka Unimatrix .00099 in synchronicity said, "Khans, yoo BLOOD SUCKERS, you've managed to dupe just about everyone else, but like p00r marksmen, you'll be missing more targets... "

      Then, Admiral/Captain/Crewman/Incarceree Braxton jumps in with "You'll be joining me in a cell for crimes you WOULD have committed. You're DEFINITELY unworthy of any SEVEN of MINE!"

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sentencing

    Whilst I agree with the severity of the sentence it would be nice to see it applied across all financial crimes of this magnitude with equity.

    1. Rukario
      FAIL

      Re: Sentencing

      Sentences of this severity are applied to financial crimes of this magnitude.

      It's only when the financial crimes are of orders of magnitude greater that the sentences decrease too nothing or negative.

  5. Jemma

    Thank the gods they were only scamming people - can you imagine waking up next to one of those two if they were running a honey trap?!

    Shame for the American Godbotherer collective that we can't do human cloning. Send a copy to every gay cure camp in America, problem solved, no more lesbianism.

    The more and more I read about this stuff the more I wonder if the majority of the human race wouldn't be more suitable as ingredients for weightwatchers ready meals than as an intelligent lifeform. As Eric Idle wisely said:-

    I hope that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space; cos there's bugger all down here on Earth! (and that was 3+ decades ago, it ain't got any better Eric).

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Three Simple Rules of Internet Dating

    1/ Don't send them money

    2/ Don't fall in love with a photograph.

    3/ DON'T SEND THEM MONEY!!!!!

    Any half experienced internet dater will tell you this; and the ones who dont are the ones being scammed out of their life savings.

    1. h3

      Re: The Three Simple Rules of Internet Dating

      There is only one rule - Don't do it period.

    2. gyffes

      Re: The Three Simple Rules of Internet Dating

      You forgot Rule #4: Don't Internet Date if you're already married!

    3. dssf

      Re: The Three Simple Rules of Internet Dating... Send them money, and send them pot...

      Send them money, and send them pot...

      Then send them to the cops in a honeypot

      Bind them and gag them with their teary snot

      Trapped in a Talosian Cell with Vina they'll rot

      A Starbucks Morning Bun, and a Pike that's Hot

      Then send a Dimorus Dart as a "forget-me-not"

      Be prepared to cry out "BEAM ME UP!!!" to Mr. Scott

      As they transform and slur "Isss tttthat ALL hyoooov ghottt?"

      (OK, I'm not a poet, and I know it...

      I had time to show it, so why not blow it?)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "crimes committed in the name of love and the United States military."

    Now there's a phrase you don't read every day...

  8. Terry 6 Silver badge

    10%

    Actually 10% of all the money they helped steal is rather a lot.

    1. Terry 6 Silver badge

      Re: 10%

      In fact here's the quote;

      "Posing as military agents, the two accepted over a million dollars (one British victim sent in $59,000) before funneling it to the scam's organizers for around 10 per cent of the take."

      10% of turnover. So more than just dupes..

    2. Vincent Ballard
      Joke

      Re: 10%

      More to the point: someone actually got a 10% cut for helping a friendly Nigerian move some money around without attracting attention. I should revisit my spam box...

      1. dssf

        Re: 10%

        And hope inside there's not a Vidiian Pox

        The encodes in you some triplicate c*cks

        Or every day you'll be changing the locks

        As your moves are impaired by phase-end-deuced rocks

        Moaning and cursing the slow-moving clocks

        You'll be ruing the school of hard-falling knocks

        So, sanitize your email and purge the spam box

        Lest you be singed and then glued to your socks

        As 25 time-shifting Hologram Docs

        Sedate you repeatedly with NOx after NOx

        (OK, time for me to go to sleep... I needed to do this to reduce the effects of my flu or cold or whatever the helll it is...)

        (composed that from 22:28-22:38)

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Happy

          Re: 10% @ dssf

          Upvoted because I remember writing crazy shit like that and being disappointed when nobody appreciated it...

    3. Evil Auditor Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: 10%

      Yes, 10% is rather a lot. But I do wonder why even bothering with forwarding the other 90%. Does the 419er maffia run background checks of their money mules?

      Keep 100% and you probably won't do time for money laundering; likely for other things though. Could someone with an understanding of this legal matter please explain? I'm seeing an opportunity here ;-)

  9. ElectricRook

    poetic justice in action

    Not that I approve of scamming the handicapped, but cruel nature has specified that fools and their money must part ways.

    If it wasn't this, it would be cigarettes, alcohol, or some other foolish thing.

  10. skeptical i
    Pint

    Meanwhile, on a FOB somewhere in the big sandy dusty ...

    ... our friends in camo contemplate the situation: "Wait, there are women stateside who'll send soldiers MONEY? Really?? Just send pics, a sob story, and some sweet talk? Hmmmm ...."

    <-- because it's hot in the big sandy dusty

    1. skeptical i

      Re: Meanwhile, on a FOB somewhere in the big sandy dusty ...

      Oops, beer went that-a-way ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

  11. Hogster

    Hmmm, with all that jail time do you think they will be looking for pen pals?

    1. dssf

      As long as they are not allowed to receive Vidiian Organ Harvester Scanners

      As long as they are not allowed to recccceive Vidiian Sssssodality Organ Harvester Scanners...

      As Torres said, "This thing puts a Tricorder to SHAME", and i know. I was sssscanned, and it required... 25 gigaquads of sssspace and 44 terawatts to process the data in around 28 secondssss. The holo image is quiet... Impresssssive and no lesssss ssssstunning.

  12. dssf

    By the way...

    By the way...

    I will NOT be responsible for any shorted-out keyboards, laptops, or quantum devices, or in-cubicle-ground-down-teeth, or misssing hair, etc.

    Good Morning!

  13. ColonelClaw
    Joke

    I knew it

    So it turns out the Victorians were right all along with the whole physiognomy thing

  14. SYNTAX__ERROR

    Disappointed

    I know the mantra "pictures or it didn't happen" is popular in these parts, but in this case I would have preferred to rely on my imagination. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sigourney Weaver from the film Heatbreakers had come to mind (and were quite welcome).

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