Phone Scam Leads to Soldier Suicide
Facebook photo of Jared Johns.
The dating site. Young men set up profiles, then try their luck with finding their next hookup. Through the course of the interaction, the photo exchange comes into play. The young man requests a “teaser” photo. The woman requests the same.
Or, as many women have complained, men send an unsolicited picture of “Junior”.
Jared Johns, a young Soldier, was not that much different from his peers with regards to hooking up on the internet. He had a profile. But, absent any information, one could only imagine what he did while on the website. In his situation, the plot thickened.
He ends up with a text. It’s “a parent” who is irate over contact the Soldier “had” with “an underage daughter”. The parent demands some money, to be sent to an account, in order for the “parents” to close down the “daughters” phone account and to open up a new account. This is also accompanied by a threat to involve the police.
From the The Daily Mail:
A 24-year-old South Carolina Army veteran with PTSD appears to have committed suicide after prison inmates pretending to be the parents of a 17-year-old girl targeted him in a ‘sextortion’ scam.
Jared Johns, 24, of Greenville, South Carolina, killed himself on September 11, 2018 – the day after exchanging text messages with people who said they were the parents of a teenage girl and claimed that Jared had asked their daughter to text him nude photos.
Jared’s parents, Kathy Bowling and Kevin Johns, told the Greenville News that they believe the teen and her parents were actually inmates at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina.
Knowing that no such thing happened, and not recognizing the actions that they were accusing him of doing, Jared Johns requested proof. They just responded with threatening him. He ended up taking his own life.
When his parents attempted to show the scammers what ultimately happened, their response provided a hint… That the suspicions that the scammers were operating out of a prison… Were reasonable.
You can read more on the Daily Mail as well as on USA Today.
Category: Veterans in the news
Am trying to figure this out based on what USA Today published about Johns’ previous suicide attempt as well as his discharge:
“Kevin Johns said he learned that his son attempted suicide by taking pills while stationed in Germany. Jared Johns was recovering from a back injury that he sustained while dismounting from an armored vehicle in Afghanistan. Jared Johns returned to Greenville in October 2015 after receiving a general discharge under honorable conditions.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/25/sextortion-scam-inmates-targeted-army-veteran-before-suicide/2980092002/
My heart still goes out to his family. Losing a love one by suicide is painful and heartbreaking. I hope and pray that oneday they will find peace and closure…and that their questions will be answered as to why he took his life.
Rest in Peace, PFC Johns.
HTF do prison inmates get Interned access?
How? Through incompetence, lax supervision, budget cuts, and a bit more incompetence.
Ars Technica: Inmates built computers hidden in ceiling, connected them to prison network
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/04/inmates-built-computers-hidden-in-ceiling-connected-them-to-prison-network/
It doesn’t surprise me. I think I heard that some inmates get tablet type PCs issued to them to help with their “education” during their incarceration. I could also swear that I read something about how some inmates were doing “call center” type work as well. That’s bullshit… the only work they should be doing is punching out license plates and any studies need to be conducted the old fashioned way, with books!
Smart phone from prison employee or hidden in a prison wallet. A smart phone on death row is about $3000.
Oh yeah, don’t forget that dirty little word, corruption.
“A BRITISH prisoner has been caught with four mobile phones, four chargers and four SIM cards hidden up his bottom.
Convicted robber Steven Wallace triggered an electronic body scanner when he was being admitted to Strangeways prison in Manchester in November, the Manchester Evening News reports.
He was stopped by guards and forced to hand over two phones and two ‘improvised chargers’ he had hidden in his anus, Manchester Crown Court heard.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Wallace admitted there was more to come, and he was placed in a cell for the night.
He then produced two more phones and chargers as well as four SIM cards the next day.”
Strangeways prison indeed.
Wow. He’d a hada fight with just my Samsung SM-G90U, plus charger and cable. Or… Maybe not. Musta been properly ‘prepped’ for the insertion at any rate.
We in the business call it “keistering” contraband !
Federal C.O. over 23 years here….
FCC won’t allow prisons/jails to use easily available cell phone blocking technology because of fears of a near by user needing to call 911 and not being able to get service in an area where you normally can get service to cell phones.
Crooked staff will bring in all kinds of contraband,then again the normal visiting room exchange with a visitor, etc.
IF you can pay, you can probably get it in prison/jail, sad to say.
This represents the reality that today’s internet is not much different than when we were texting over the internet back in our 300 baud modem days…the joke was that we were corresponding on the internet, “where the men were men, and so were 95% of the women”
My standard response to people telling me they’re going to sue or call the cops is that they should do exactly that as I will contact my attorney as well and respond in kind.
Regarding the inmates it’s not that hard to prevent access to certain websites, perhaps they need better IT people at these prisons.
Regarding the young man, it’s clear he was in some mental state that was a continuation of previous problems. Treatment either didn’t work or wasn’t sought, and the outcome is not unexpected. Untreated mental illness seldom leads to a positive outcome, even treated mental illness often results in poor outcomes.
Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington was a victim of a sexting Scandal of somewhat in his day and age. He was known to have quite the appetite for the feminine form and was involved with an unscrupulous young lady. A local media presence receive copies of his correspondence with said young lady and threatened to publish the letters if they were not paid. His response was classic and deal should be used today. “Publish and be damned.”
“where the men were men, and so were 95% of the women”
Fast forward to today; That statement is still probably true, but if chatting/talking/texting an underage female online, 99% will still likely be male, but also popo. Send DickPics at your own risk. I surely don’t need to provide references…
Re-reading my post, it seems callous. Not intended, PFC Jared Johns didn’t need to take his life over this, and I mourn for his family’s grief. I have to assume he was freaked out about the consequences of what he had ‘allegedly’ done. This scamming shit is rampant. Protect yourselves, and your family.
RIP PFC Jared Johns. Tragically sad on too many levels. Peace be unto his family. Maybe if the scum that ran this scam could be charged with manslaughter, or something, it would slow this scam down.
To answer some question on the innerwebz availability, crews are pulling fiber optic cables into prisons everyday. This is not to provide www to the employees, it is to provide this service to the inmates. And yeah, you are paying for it.
I hope these scumbags are the main course at the prison deli run by Tiny and the gang! Even better if they are the blue plate special! My prayers go out to him and his family!
My heart goes out to his family. Yet, I cannot justify the idea of blaming anyone but the individual in cases of suicide.
The worst thing we ever did regarding suicide, as a society, was to say, “it’s ok to feel this way.” It’s a cowardly act, and it should be met with the same disdain we give to every other cowardly action.
These inmates are clearly shitbags, but the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Mr. Johns – not PTSD, and not some nefarious boogie men. It’s like blaming a bully for a high school kid choosing a permanent solution – the second you punish that bully, you weaponize (and, thus, encourage) suicide.
Please forgive me if this seems harsh, any death is painful and I’m not heartless on the matter – but kid gloves don’t fix this issue. Suicide should be shamed.
I’m with you.
I’ve known kids that came home from school and discovered their fathers with their brains blown out all over the basement or backyard because of stupid shit they decided was worth that kind of abuse of their kids.
I could never imagine the horror those kids have seen and how much it will haunt them as they grow through adulthood and have kids of their own….
What a horrible thing to do to a kid…
Your own kid…
Thanks.
I was, honestly, expecting to get berated for not truly understanding the young man’s plight. I’ve voiced this particular opinion on other sites only to have my humanity, military status, and sexual orientation called into question.
Suicide is nothing but a coward’s response to life’s difficult moments. It’s one thing to feel suicidal – understanding that feeling is the first step to addressing it in one’s brothers. Acting on that feeling, however, deserves nothing but shame and disgrace.
I’m not a big fan of much of what the church has done throughout history, but its treatment of suicides was spot-on.
Considering suicide over someone else’s shitty behavior?
Don’t give the bitch the satisfaction.