Mississippi Man Charged in Sextortion Scheme Involving more than 40 Victims

Press Release

Jackson, Miss. - A Jackson man was arrested today in Jackson on federal charges relating to an alleged "sextortion" scheme that targeted multiple victims, including minors.

According to a nine-count indictment unsealed this week, Marquez Cameron Jones Weston, 22, allegedly operated a "sextortion" scheme in which he engaged in cyberstalking, interstate threats, extortion, attempted production of child pornography, and transportation of child pornography over the internet. As part of the scheme charged in the indictment, Weston attempted to and did extort money and nude and sexually explicit photographic images from at least 47 different identified female individuals over the internet, with more unidentified. Several of these females were minors. The indictment alleges Weston committed these crimes from July 2023 through February 2024.

"We are seeing a troubling increase throughout the nation of 'sextortion' as criminals, like this defendant, use information they gain through on-line communications, hacking, or other means to blackmail juveniles and other victims into giving them pornography," said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee. "I encourage parents to be aware of who their children are communicating with on-line, and all internet users to be cautious about sharing their personal information on-line."

"Today's arrest demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the FBI, USAO and our law enforcement partners in protecting our communities from being victimized by sextortion," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff. "Marquez Cameron Jones Weston's, deliberate actions in targeting the innocence of our youth will not be tolerated. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate and bring predatory individuals, like Mr. Weston, to justice."

Weston made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew S. Harris of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

In February, a federal grand jury named Weston in a separate indictment charging him with possession of child pornography. If convicted of that charge, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Sam Houston State University Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.

The FBI provides the following six tips on how people can protect themselves from sextortion schemes:

• Be selective about what you share online. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you.
• Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
• Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that people are who they claim to be. Images can be altered or stolen. In some cases, predators have even taken over the social media accounts of their victims.
• Be suspicious if you meet someone on one game or app and this person asks you to start talking on a different platform.
• Be in the know. Any content you create online-whether it is a text message, photo, or video-can be made public. And nothing actually "disappears" online. Once you send something, you don't have any control over where it goes next.
• Be willing to ask for help. If you are getting messages or requests online that don't seem right, block the sender, report the behavior to the site administrator, or go to an adult. If you have been victimized online, tell someone.

If you, your child, or someone you know is being exploited via sextortion, contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or report it online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Additional resources can found at Sextortion and Financially Motivated Sextortion - FBI. If you believe you are a victim in this particular case, please also contact the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.

U.S. Attorney Todd Gee recently recorded an Internet Safety PSA warning about the dangers of online predators.

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An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated October 3, 2024