South Carolina man convicted in attempted online extortion case in Michigan
A South Carolina man was convicted by a federal jury in Michigan in a case involving someone pretending online to be a Grand Rapids teenager -- when he was actually a man serving time in state prison.
The victim in the case died by suicide as the conversations escalated, according to a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge.
The sentencing date has not yet been set for Glenn Daeward Boyd, 36, of Kershaw, South Carolina, who now has convictions on attempted extortion, stalking and five counts of wire fraud, the district attorney's office said. The stalking charge has a penalty of up to five years in prison; each of the other charges has penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
"Perpetrators like Mr. Boyd who attempt to extort people online using sexual exploitation will be held accountable, and cannot hide behind their cell phones and computers," Birge said in his written statement on the case.
According to evidence provided during the two-day jury trial in Kalamazoo, Boyd presented himself as an 18-year-old female from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the "Plenty of Fish" dating app.
He made contact with another app member in August 2023, claiming at times to be a 15-year-old girl and then claiming to be the girl's grandparents. This activity happened while Boyd was in prison in South Carolina for unrelated criminal convictions.
The conversations with the victim included threats to report him to family as a pedophile; including a social media post that said, "He is a pedophile I have all the evidence if anyone wants to see it."
The day of that threat, the victim reported the extortion and scheme to police.
The victim then died by suicide, the district attorney's office said.
"Glenn Boyd's conviction sends a clear and powerful message: individuals who engage in online exploitation and financial crimes will be held fully accountable under the law," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "This case involved a financially driven sextortionist who specifically targeted and manipulated the victim for personal gain."
Numerous law enforcement agencies and offices worked on this investigation, including the Wyoming (Michigan) Police Department, South Carolina Department of Corrections-Office of Inspector General, South Carolina Department of Corrections, Newaygo County Sheriff's Office, Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, FBI Charlotte, FBI Columbia, and FBI Omaha. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Constance R. Turnbull and Jonathan Roth were the assigned prosecutors.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sextortion, authorities encourage making contact with local law enforcement or reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
The FBI provides the following tips on how people can protect themselves from online 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. In some cases, predators have taken over the social media accounts of their victims.
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.
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