FTC's Top Scams of 2022

My favorite conversation related to fraud was last month during a short business call. I can't even remember what the task item was about, specifically, unless I looked through my notes, but I remember the woman's voice, her comments, and the feeling I had.

It was interesting to me, as she was about to ask for a piece of identifying information, for her due-diligence, and she almost made a mistake. She paused, and stopped, and asked a different question, which I answered.

I caught her mistake though, and commented on it. I told her I was glad she had switched gear.

She said "I know, the other thing, well there are higher risks in that."

I said: "I know!" Plus something about high need for privacy due to my work.

She then shared a story, about her female friend who worked in Government. The branch she was a part of, she could not even give out her work email, as all information, creates a risk, a vulnerability.

I thanked her for sharing that story and JOKED with her in appreciation: "I have never felt so heard, seen, nor understood in my life." Obviously, that's a huge exaggeration, of the small feeling that I had.

She got it though. She knows about security, risks, vulnerabilities, safety.

We all can improve in these areas. Here is FTC's fraud stats from last year.

FTC's Top Scams of 2022

The top scams of 2022

Last Year lost 8.8 Billion Due to Fraud. We must report EVERY ACTOR & EVERY INCIDENT

We must all do our part to report fraud & scammers, daily. I know it can feel like a hassle to professionals, especially those who consult, or work in small teams. Kevin Mitnick + other USA top security professionals state: reporting does feel like a hassle for employees, co.'s, victims, but it's necessary, and over time, statistically it DOES reduce threats.

Scammers are real people, like you & me, only something went wrong in their lives. They have either abnormal or antisocial (criminal) psychology. Even if they believe they started out because they were "a victim" themselves, either they were, or that's the Narcissist in them speaking (Hero-Victim-Antagonist).

Their ongoing behaviors are criminal & hurt countless innocent ppl. (Mariana Van Zeller interviewed one scammer, who started out needing to pay exorbitant medical bills for her sick father. She kept at the scam, because it was lucrative, affording her a lifestyle she could never imagine before, where she called her work The Game. She was heartless in her cruelty in her actions re: stealing from innocent people (similar to Dr. Danielle Robert's heartless cruelty in branding humans - she could see no wrong in the coercion, manipulation, abuse & trafficking she is part of).

I know in the US, Threat Actors from Silicon Valley 2006-2015, were engineers/developers; doing it because they liked it, b/c their "friends" did it, and for perceived slights, which were often untrue (not real; their mental disorder or group slander/libel).

In 2016-2017, Threat Actors in Virginia that I filed against, had criminal records. It took until 2021 in TX, to find out they work for Traffickers & Domestic Terrorists.

In 2020-2021 in TX, Threat Actors recruited from Colleges, incl. University of Texas at Austin. From Hostels, Night Clubs, Recovery Clinics, Jails, Shelters. They use advanced marketing & Language Structures of Manipulation, Power & Control. They're ALL misinformed. Their tech, is advanced, but the application used, any 3-6 yo child can be taught, easy to implement. Actors told me they signed NDA. They couldn't get jobs elsewhere. They did it to be paid in BitCoin + Drugs. Advanced Actors also paid in Points, Cred, Cash.

Please check your email headers (download the .eml file & change it to .txt). Please block and report the senders & callers. Please be informed on: If You See Something Say Something (DHS) & report all people who fit the behaviors of what to look out for.

Please report people at work, who are committing crimes on the inside. People talk at company parties & social events. People brag. People work together in teams. Their psychology is all distinct, if you're trained.

Otherwise it's also transparent, if you're aware. All you have to do is to watch, listen, and report, just as an act of awareness, nothing more than that.

You know who the perpetrators are. You could help save yourself from theft & loss and help others, including last year's 8.8 Billion.

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/02/ftc-crunches-2022-numbers-see-where-scammers-continue-crunch-consumers?utm_source=govdelivery

This post had 11,244 impressions. #NXIVM #NicoleMorin #Twitter #LinkedIn

This post had 11,244 impressions earlier this week. Yet no comments, no likes, no messages, no increased followers nor connections. That is out of alignment with every A/B study. Let's circle back as to why, and please respond if you know more, can expand my understanding, or can help. Thank you.

I worked with the Marketing Director of BuyerLink, billionaire Payam Zamani's corp. His Dir was involved in making Starbucks a recognized brand, BEFORE it was a household name. Those types of mentors I worked with, contributed to the successes of any project I've had. As stated in an earlier post, b/c of their insight & what they taught me, I've never "lost" in totality; only some partial losses as one piece of ongoing case work. More than those few incidents, I have experienced DELAYS when perpetrators attempted to affect my work.

In December I was locked out of Twitter for two weeks after I posted about Nicole Morin. In January I was locked out of LinkedIn for a week, and it took buying a new computer to get back in. I sent LinkedIn the fraudulent notices I received, pretending to be from them, as well as the headers & IP traces. They were coming from a tech firm in Ontario, who was committing illegal fraud, impersonation, and affected my account. They committed a crime, and I hope Canada's Minister of Justice, frowns upon that.

An impression is different than a view and different than an open.

In marketing, to make one "sale", it's 100 cold calls, 10 conservations, 1 sale. In email marketing, it's about 1 sale to every 1,000 valid email addresses. My statistics, have always been higher (a) b/c of that Director I knew + other brilliant leaders who helped me along the way (if I worked w/you in a long term W2 assignment, you know who you are; thank you for your guidance); & (b) as I'm old school, focused on relationships. I'm generally more word of mouth, keeping my foundation w/people I know, trust, have worked with in the past.

I'm missing 8 emails from January attack. I'm missing a handful of emails from December attack.

If you're one of those people, reach out to me again. I want to connect with you.

If you reached out to identify #NXVIM members (1 of 2 posts had photos), REACH OUT TO ME AGAIN. Closing the case matters to me. I received 2 restraining orders from Judge L against their members who failed due diligence in 2018 & I need to renew. I have enough data, but there's an aspect that's BIGGER than my small case. ID can help more globally: NXIVM was indicted for trafficking, and use technology to commit crime. IDing members, bridges a gap between my case & tech they use to hurt others.

The case regarding #NicoleMorin, is my top priority this year, more important than anything I've worked on since I first worked with a District Attorney in 1998. Out of all my assignments helping corporations, reporting fraud & helping some families affected by fraud over 25 years, Morin is THE MOST IMPORTANT. As NXIVM traffics, they are a part.

Threat Actors ARE on US Soil

Thanks for this. This is great. Except for, many cyber criminals ARE in the US. I've been filming & photographing a large group that traffics, since 2021. They're here, on our soil. I also met many perpetrators, in Silicon Valley. I was the Financial Controller for several major tech companies 2006-2010, working with thousands of engineers. When I achieved exit, hackers would come up to me, and give me bits of info. It always disturbed me, until I got curious, then decided to research what they were doing.One perpetrator from DC in 2021, said his father was Secret Service, and he and his friends, were exploiting some of that technology. He was an actual Influencer, and told me he marketed his brand, which was about art, tattoos, lifestyle. He formed teams of volunteers/gamers for the Domestic Terrorist Organization he worked for, utilizing Serious Games. They physically followed & technologically breached, specific individuals who fit their attack criteria. It was for profit. The targets were chosen due to their finances, their politics, their media, or for revenge. He told me he marketed and amassed a group of 1,200 Players, willing to wreak havoc.

In 2021, I spoke to a former Advertising Director living in Virginia. He admitted to me that he has a gambling addiction & engages in this type of gaming to feed his habit, for pay, and for revenge. He described women the way Narcissists do, on an extreme scale of love v hate. He told me he formed gaming teams of 1,000 players per game. He said their goal is to make money through fraud, earn points, and then kill their target within 2-3 months, making it look like suicide. He writes books, which are his trophies. One per victim.

In 2015 I spoke with a Real Estate Co-Owner in San Francisco. He told me he had a rough childhood in New York, was befriended by a male leader in mafia. He told me his job was to go to homes as a teen, and the men he was with, would beat or kill the individuals in those homes, who had debt. He told me he wanted to get out of the violent part of it, and so found BitCoin. He said he now forms teams to harass & steal from people, using technology.

In 2021 in Texas to DC, a caravan I was recording, were immigrants, from Mexico, Brazil, New Zealand, other countries. One GM who forms teams stated she brings individuals over from Australia to play in US illegal tournaments. One immigrant in DC, told me he was hired to write for a Foundation that Traffics, and that if he did what they said, they would help him with US citizenship.

This is happening HERE on US soil by Citizens & Immigrants, working for organized crime. They do use their devices from their home countries. They also use VPN's. I was able to interview a small handful of Threat Actors, who told me that they had felonies, and after they got out of prison, could not get hired elsewhere, unless menial work. One started working for organized crime, paying him $50/hour. One woman stated she earned $10K per deliverable.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7034190068508450816/

Interview with Criminal Contractor, Washington DC June 2021

This article, a fine example of organized crime & retaliation.In DC June 2021, a man from Maryland approached me, asking me who I worked for. He seemed to be referring to the crime report I turned in to AG, that was accepted. I told him I had ID's with two gov offices, but was non specific, as those are related to my work re: victims of crime. I did not give him the answer he wanted, nor was detailed enough for him. (If he was anyone in government or important, he'd already have known.)

There were social dynamics at play. If I was alone, I never would have let that man come physically close to me. But I was with a group of individuals; he came up to one of them, in order to talk to me. He looked at me, said even though I didn't answer him, it didn't matter who I did or did not work for, as "They" have connections in all places. When he said this, it made me curious enough to bite. I asked him what he did. He said he was a contractor. He said he "cleaned" things up for wealthy people.

What he was talking about, is what I believe to be organized crime for hire & public corruption. Including "cleaning things up", where murders are made to look like suicides.

Victims & Journalists murdered for doing the right thing & speaking out.

I interviewed Actors in Texas & DC, when I turned in a report to The Attorney General. Some of the mentally ill members, were more open about their tech & chemicals they use to make it look like suicide, like an rx that if injected, will stop the heart and not register on a chemical test (MD confirmed this). Some seemed to not know what they were getting into when they signed their contract & NDA, and assumed, I didn't have a foundation in what they meant, so didn't think the reference they used, would give it away.

A small handful of the white collar criminals (engineers) did explain processes to me in a way that was pointed enough & clear, for me to understand. Others were non-verbal, their actions displaying what they were doing: pointing to a piece of tech, or to a bag of "herbs" (not herbs) or rx where the label explained it. A few, used synonyms, thinking they were getting one over on me.

Ultimately, they communicated with me as a part of them liked me enough or rapport built was enough. More than that, I think it was about THEM, LIKING what they did + their narcissistic need for glory. There are also language structures, which can trigger answers based on the criminal's disorder.

I've been researching Threat Actors who financially traffic since they committed a crime in SF in 2012 & recurring crimes since.

They are connected to drug trafficking, sex trafficking, murder-for-hire, where I didn't find out about all of that until TX/DC.

They hate the press & their victims who lived, or spoke out against them.

"Nearly half of the journalists who were killed last year were not on assignment when they were targeted, the U.N. said, and were slain in their homes, while traveling or in various public places."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killings-of-journalists-and-media-workers-surged-50-percent-in-2022-un-says/

2023 PTIN

My 2023 PTIN

Thank you H&R Block, for your training, enthusiasm, and the people you attract. A company of accountants and tax professionals that want to be there, and exude warmth.

Feel free to check out this referral link, for help with your taxes.

H&R Block

LinkedIn: H&R Block

Sunshine Week (Open Government)

I have a deep love and appreciation for our government, from the the family who raised me, as we had former presidents who were in leadership, who were close. (Clinton, Cheney.)

I'm into prevention & knowing what you're going to get, which is why I like government. I've had fun geeking out over policy manuals. I love the due diligence and due process. I also love the oversight, where anyone in house can file a complaint, and know it will be processed. Also where any journalist or citizen, can request and obtain much information. And where any citizen can attend open meetings, contact their representatives, and have a voice in our Democracy. These aspects, I value.

I had been Interim Co-Controller for Reality Digital Inc in San Francisco for one of their series fundings round. The CEO, Cynthia, was brilliant, and she thought differently than any other Leader I've met. She was a whole-brain thinker, thinking creatively, in systems, utilizing her exceptional education, training, background, and she also cared about people, in the most human way I have ever witnessed from a CEO. That part, where I saw her be strong and stable, holding space for the actual human element, which seemed to be from her heart (not her emotions nor head, as it came across), was the most impressive thing to me.

I'd seen other start-up CEO's be too passionate, and that passion, creates blind spots. I'd seen even more CEO's, be too cold, and only seem to care, when they were being glib, which means that if you scanned their brain, they'd probably have low empathy (the charisma was for social effects, not heartfelt, i.e. narcissistic or sociopathic). No one wants a cold leader. No one wants to be lied to. People want leaders they can respect, who lead with consistency, and who can help, in relatable ways.

After Reality Digital was acquired, Cynthia moved onto OpenCities. https://lnkd.in/eaZ-mYnF

Their current purpose is: "We empower local governments to create better web, intranet and online service experiences that last."

But before that, along the way, over the last many years, I had seen a post from OpenCities about their purpose in making the Government more Transparent. At the time it had been written, I felt impressed, and it deepened my appreciation for Cynthia.

Society of Professional Journalists is partnering with NLA for SunshineWeek. I'm excited to discover more about what dark recesses exist. I know when I reported technology used to commit financial trafficking to Texas Government, they were responsive, and ultimately helpful. The problem with the corruption that existed, was not with government directly, but yet, some employees of Government, did approach me, and did threaten me over that case. It was not the Government; it was people who worked for the Government. All corporate problems, are people problems. There are individuals in every entity type, that should not be there.

Society of Professional Journalists41,072 followers

1d • 1 day ago

SPJ is partnering with the News Leaders Association to host #SunshineWeek, March 12-18. Sunshine Week aims to promote open government and shine light into the dark recesses of government secrecy. Visit https://bit.ly/3lUeuoX for more information. 

This Video Has 61,060,401 Views

I stumbled across this video Q4 2022 and fell in "love". I watched it to the end, and then a few times, which is something I rarely have time, nor TAKE the time for. It may have been the mountains in the background, symbolism that means something to me. It was about the math, and the results of said math.

I read a post from Jason Feifer, of Entrepreneur, about trust regarding social media views. I agree with him in general, but not in totality. Here's why:

Feifer said he didn't trust an individual due to disconnect between likes & comments. I'm paraphrasing. He is brilliant, in his position for a reason, so when you dig into the details, I'm sure there were other clues he saw & recognized, which contributed to his assessment that the person's Likes weren't real. He also mentioned their associations, which yes, is a great filter (they were claiming connection to a convicted felon).

I want to comment on a subset of semi-public figures, where there may be a disconnect between followers/likes v comments. I'm one of them, but I'm not the only one, as my favorite high profile creative geniuses, seem to be similar to this, too.

I initially wanted to grow a following from relationship writing, 2004-2009. I started to get traction, but my market was the wrong demographic. I was writing about the SCIENCE of RELATIONSHIPS + PREFERENCES. It was research. It was also a little bit dark comedy. It was for grad studies + a social commentary. My followers ended up being polyamorous Burning Man folk, where to each their own, but I'm out of alignment w/their relationship behaviors (I'm a straight serial monogamist, independent yet protective of people & relationships). I ended up deleting the blog, which I thought was valuable, after some mentally ill poly men who also used poly tech to stalk, were pissed I said NO to them. (The writing is always on the wall.) This was my first taste at a smaller but still significant Bay Area following.

My real success, came next, in 2010, when I invested in Celebrity Chef Cooking Classes to 12/31/12 when the company closed. We went out to 1M+ people & kept doing promotions of that size for 2yrs. I was also writing as part of HARO, earning 170+ media publications in 1yr 2011-2012. My followers got up to Influencer Level.

In 2012, a crime occurred, and I'd worked with the DA in SC in 1998, but this time it was different. I ended up choosing caution when it came to publicity, doing several things. I cleaned up my online followers, blocked many people, who might have associated with individuals who had records of convictions. I also kept writing, but no longer had a budget for a marketing team. Which means, I stopped interacting with any followers. No interaction, and people learn not to comment.

Other creatives I know, who are int'lly acclaimed, also have a following, but little interaction, because they're creative, not marketers, a lower budget, less bandwidth.

Algorithms can also get real likes. Tom Scott, he's cool.

Commander in Briefs

Thanks Tom Scott, for this post about our former "Commander in Briefs", Bill Clinton.

I'm into Barack Obama's answer to this question. What about you?
https://lnkd.in/e3HhBQGG

Feel free to discover more content by Tom Scott here:
https://lnkd.in/eqkp7j53

(Bill Clinton was friends with my former employer, Janet Lishman's brother, and I was grateful to sit in on their call re: early 2000's Vaccination Research, with Clinton. I also read the report before it was published; I'm incredibly grateful for that.)

Vaccine's save lives, absolutely do not nor ever have, caused Autism. The Thimerosal in some vaccines, Mercury, we know is a toxin. A metal, it settles. Janet said as vaccines were created in vats, the doses taken from the bottom, may have higher amounts of mercury than the others, and this would be damaging to sensitive individuals, and/or ANY individual, if amount were high enough, which she said probably wasn't the issue for most kids, only sensitive individuals. I do not know how MMR are being made today, but in 2003, the solution for this potential concern, was to ask for a more expensive Thimerosal Free Vaccine.

My adopted mother, was reluctant to vaccinate me, but was forced to for US school enrollment. As an adult, through an MD in San Francisco, I found out that some of my childhood vaccines had been missed, so went through vaccination in 2015. Before then, it was my "normal" to get sick 1-3x a year. Also, I was susceptible to infection when I traveled. Getting current + travel vaccines in 2015, changed my life. I stopped getting sick. Now I get vaccinated annually, and never get the flu. I was on top of it with COVID, not out of fear, as I tested negative, don't have the gene, and have a strong immune system (now). It was prevention, and concern for my fellow humans.

Have a laugh about our president's responses to this intimate question.

Be smart about research and sources where you're getting your health information from vs misinformation. (All misinformation, is either ignorance, dogmatic, or Power & Control, therefore abuse. Including all ERW propaganda. Vaccines have never caused Autism. The research has never lied to us. It's clearly stated Thimerosal is dangerous as it's mercury, but that wasn't the problem with vaccines, and sensitive individuals can request Thimerosal free vaccinations.)

SIDEBAR: My research into the forensics of technology used to commit financial crime produced traffickers, and that produced missing kids. Some of the newspaper articles & case files, mentioned various drugs used for abductions, and later on for "parenting" or "control" of that child. I've researched some of the effects of those drugs, and to me, some of it looks like ASD. Please stop blaming vaccinations, for a different agent, that can cause harm. For example, kids dosed with Halcyon, can have symptoms that look like narcolepsy or ADHD, when it's not those disorders, but the after effects of a drug.

https://waxy.org/2023/01/lost-media-finding-bill-clintons-boxers-or-briefs-mtv-moment/

The Art of Deception & Preventing Human Social Engineering

2000 to 2005 I worked in Private Equity, managing Trusts & Estates for Asset Preservation. We managed about 150 portfolios under 20M. The managing partner had me read The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick, and wanted to impress, that our systems and who we worked with, were secure, and that our firm's risk assessment, would be based on the strength of the employees, and who would be vulnerable to social engineering vs not.

My adopted family is HNW, and the family trust is UHNW, albeit they're the bottom percent of people who are UHNW, which my grandmother spoke about often. My entire life, I was trained in security, and relationships with others. Vulnerabilities with systems, can be secured. Vulnerabilities with people, are more about an archetype, and while they can be trained, modified, improved, to me, it actually does come down to Nature + Nurture + Associates + Life Experiences. There are risk assessments with people, and predictable outcomes based on stress they're going through.

My family, taught top down, which is typical teaching for high intelligence, which they are. They though, are isolated in their wealth, and also insulated in their religion. When I was training in college studying Applied Behaviorism, we worked with ASD bottom-up. I related to this training, as it was like baseball. When I won state as Starting Center for our JV Softball team, I was initially cut, then had to work exceptionally hard all season, to get Starting Center, and only for a few games at the end. With finance and security, strength builds, and is bottom-up, to me. Little mistakes, can create consuming and costly audits further on. Little slips, can open up a person or firm, to breach. Never worth it.

When it comes to people who are trustworthy or not, I always interview based on values, ethics, and utilize body language analysis and micro-expressions as taught by FBI Security Trainers, and Dr. Ekman. My companies never had the problems other firms do, based on due diligence and screening.

All corporate problems are people problems. A strong company, has no place for Narcissism, whatsoever. Does not matter if they're glib, because the place they come from, matters, and NPD is black & white thinkers who are retaliatory, and ultimately out for themselves, without an internal sense of anything eusocial for good. Narcissists thrive in organized crime. In healthy companies, they destroy that which is good.

All healthy companies, do have healthy competition. They do NOT have bullying, nor narcissism, nor any form of social engineering or espionage. They are trained in awareness, prevention, protection.

Individuals and companies are healthy, when their team is healthy, balanced, safe, and stimulated. This is the correct foundation for anything worthwhile, with longevity and profits.

The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Deception-Controlling-Element-Security/dp/076454280X

WIKIPEDIA: Kidnapping of Charley Ross

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Charley_Ross 

Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross (born May 4, 1870 – disappeared July 1, 1874) was the primary victim of the first American kidnapping for ransom to receive widespread media coverage. His fate remains unknown, and his case is one of the most famous disappearances in U.S. history.^[1]

Abduction[edit]

On July 1, 1874, four-year-old Charley Ross and his five-year-old brother, Walter Lewis Ross, were playing in the front yard of their family's home in Germantown, a well-to-do section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A horse-drawn carriage pulled up to the residence and the boys were approached by two men who offered candy and fireworks if they would take a ride with them. These two men were known to the boys, as they had been visiting with candy in the days preceding July 1. So the boys agreed, and were transported through Philadelphia to a store where Walter was directed to buy fireworks inside with 25 cents given to him. Walter did so, but the carriage left without him. Charley Ross was taken away and never seen again.^[2]

Ransom[edit]

Christian K. Ross, the boys' father, began receiving ransom demands from the apparent kidnappers. They arrived in the form of notes mailed from post offices in Philadelphia and elsewhere, all written in an odd hand and in a coarse, semi-literate style with many simple words misspelled. The communications generally requested a ransom of $20,000 ($400,000 today). The notes cautioned against police intervention and threatened Charley's life if Christian did not cooperate. While the kidnappers had assumed the family was wealthy because of their large house and Christian's ownership of a small dry goods store,^[3] the truth was that the family was heavily in debt due to the stock market crash of 1873. Seeing no way to pay the ransom, Christian went to the police. The kidnapping soon became national news.

In addition to the heavy press coverage, some prominent Philadelphians enlisted the help of the famous Pinkerton National Detective Agency, who had millions of flyers and posters printed with Charley Ross's likeness. A popular song based on the crime was composed by Dexter Smith and W. H. Brockway, entitled "Bring Back Our Darling".^[4] Several attempts were made to provide the kidnappers with ransom money as dictated in the notes, but in each case the kidnappers failed to appear. Eventually, communication stopped.

Suspects[edit]

On the night of December 13, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, the house belonging to Judge Charles Van Brunt was burgled.^[5] Holmes Van Brunt, Charles' brother who lived next door, gathered armed members of his household to stop the intruders in the act. Holmes's group entered Charles's house and brought down both burglars with a torrent of gunfire. The burglars, Bill Mosher and Joe Douglas, were career criminals who had recently been released from jail. Mosher was killed instantly from the gunfire. Douglas was mortally wounded, but managed to live approximately two more hours and was able to communicate with Holmes.

There is no clear consensus regarding exactly what Douglas said as he was dying, as all who were present to witness were too shaken by the night's events to give accurate reports. It is thought that Douglas may have said that lying was pointless, as he knew he was mortally wounded, and had thusly admitted that he and Mosher had abducted Charley Ross. Douglas is believed to have reported that Ross was killed, or that Mosher knew where the boy was, possibly adding that he would be returned unharmed to his family within a few days. Douglas did not give any clues to Ross's location or other particulars of the crime and died soon afterwards.

Charley's brother Walter was taken to New York City to look at the bodies of Mosher and Douglas so as to determine if they were the men from the carriage ride. Walter confirmed that they were the same men who took the boys from in front of their home the previous summer. Mosher in particular was very identifiable as he had a distinctively malformed nose, which Walter had described to police as a "monkey nose". (The cartilage of Mosher's nose had been destroyed by syphilis or cancer). Walter himself was asked to identify the bodies of Mosher and Douglas, and he confirmed they were the kidnappers. For most, the issue of who the men in the carriage were was settled beyond reasonable doubt, but Charley Ross was still missing.

Trial[edit]

Former Philadelphia policeman William Westervelt, a known associate of Mosher (and his wife's brother), was arrested and held in connection with the case. He was tried in 1875 for kidnapping.^[6] Although Westervelt was a friend and perhaps a confidant of Mosher (while in prison awaiting trial he had told Christian that his son had been alive at the time of Mosher's death), there was virtually no evidence to tie him to the crime itself. Walter, for one, insisted that Westervelt was not one of the men in the carriage that took them away. Westervelt was found not guilty of the kidnapping. However, he was found guilty of a lesser conspiracy charge and served six years in prison. He always maintained his own innocence and swore that he did not know the whereabouts of Charley Ross.

Aftermath[edit]

Two years after the kidnapping, Christian published a book on the case titled The Father's Story of Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child in order to raise money to continue searching for his son. By 1878, the media interest in the case had begun to wane. To renew interest, Ross had the book reprinted and began giving lectures in Boston.^[7]

Christian and his wife continued to search for their son until their deaths (Christian died in 1897 and his wife in 1912).^[8] They followed leads and interviewed over 570 boys, teenagers, and eventually grown men from around the world who claimed to have been Charley. All proved to be imposters.^[9] The Rosses eventually spent approximately $60,000 looking for their son.^[10] In 1924, newspapers began running stories about the case to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Ross's abduction. By that time, Walter was an adult and was working as a stockbroker. In interviews, he said that he and his three sisters still received letters from middle aged men claiming to be his brother.^[8]

In 1934, Gustave Blair, a 69-year-old carpenter living in Phoenix, Arizona, petitioned a Maricopa County court to recognize him as the real Charley Ross.^[11] Blair claimed that after he was abducted, he lived in a cave and was eventually adopted by a man who told him he was Ross.^[10] Charley's older brother, Walter Ross, dismissed Blair as "a crank" and added, "The idea that my brother is still alive is not only absurd, but the man's story seems unconvincing. We've long ago given up hope that Charles ever would be found alive."^[12] As Blair's claim went uncontested, the court ruled that he was "Charles Brewster Ross" in March 1939.^[12] Despite the ruling, the Ross family refused to recognize Blair as their relative and did not bequeath him any money or property from their parents' estate.^[11] Blair briefly moved to Los Angeles and attempted to sell his life story to a film studio but was unsuccessful.^[8] He eventually moved to Germantown with his wife before moving back to Phoenix. Blair died in December 1943 still claiming that he was Ross.^[11]

Gustave Blair's victory in the Maricopa County courtroom was met with considerable skepticism^[13] but was reported at the time to have solved the disappearance of Charley Ross.^[14] In 2011, in a study commissioned by descendants of the family Blair claimed had raised him after he was kidnapped, Y-DNA evidence determined it did not. Using chain of custody procedures, DNA was collected from a male descendant of each of two suspected brothers, Harrison Miller and Nelson Miller (aka Gustave Blair). DNA analysis determined they had a “99.99903% probability of kinship” meaning they were in fact brothers. They shared the same paternal linage, a perfect 37/37 7-STR marker match. Gustave Blair was a Miller, Nelson Miller. He could not have been Charley Ross.^[15]

The case, and in particular the fates of Mosher, Douglas, and Westervelt, served as a deterrent to other potential ransom kidnappers: it would be a quarter of a century before another high-profile ransom kidnapping case emerged with Edward Cudahy Jr. in 1900.

The common admonition "don't take candy from strangers" is said to have come from Ross's abduction. The Charley Project, a major missing persons database, is named for Ross.^[9]

While waiting for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to appear at the 1936 Democratic National Convention concluding at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, newspaper columnist H.L. Mencken noted a prank had been played on a public address announcer by someone getting him to continually summon a "Charles Ross" to the press area.^[16]

See also[edit]

• List of people who disappeared

References[edit]

1. ^ DeVito, Brittany (Spring 2010). ""23 Letters - A Child Lost Forever."". The Pennsylvania Center for the Book - Charley Ross Kidnapping. Penn State University Libraries. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
2. ^ Porterfield, Waldon R. (October 2, 1974). "Little Charlie and the Crime That Shocked the Nation". The Milwaukee Journal. p. 20. Retrieved December 3, 2014.^{[dead link]}
3. ^ People staff (May 23, 2018). "PEOPLE Explains: Infamous Kidnappings Throughout History". People. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
4. ^ James, Bill (2012). Popular Crime: Reflections on the Celebration of Violence. Simon and Schuster. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-4165-5274-1.
5. ^ "Beautiful Shore Road", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 31, 1890
6. ^ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(still image) Philadelphia, PA. -- the trial of William Westervelt, an alleged accomplice in the abduction of little Charlie Ross, (1875)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
7. ^ Harris, Sharon (2009). Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical, 1832–1919. Rutgers University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-8135-4819-7.
8. ^ Jump up to: ^a b c Avery, Ron (1997). City of Brotherly Mayhem: Philadelphia Crimes and Criminals. Otis Books. p. 33. ISBN 1-4223-6235-3.
9. ^ Jump up to: ^a b Franscell, Ron; Valentine, Karen B. (2013). The Crime Buff's Guide to Outlaw Pennsylvania. Globe Pequot. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-4930-0446-1.
10. ^ Jump up to: ^a b Towne, Vincent (December 9, 1941). "Kidnapers Used Candy To Lure Charley Ross". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 31. Retrieved December 3,2014.
11. ^ Jump up to: ^a b c ""Charley Ross" Dead". The Montreal Gazette. December 16, 1943. p. 15. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
12. ^ Jump up to: ^a b "Philadelphia Boy Still Missing; Charlie Ross' Brother Declares Claim Of Blair Ridiculous". The Evening Independent. May 9, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
13. ^ Everly, Thomas. “Searching for Charley Ross.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 67, no. 3, 2000, pp. 376–96, https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/view/25641/25410. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.
14. ^ Gustave Blair vs Walter L Ross, et al, “In the Superior Court of Maricopa County, State of Arizona - Judgement, May 9, 1939)
15. ^ Miller, Rodney and Larry D. (December 2021). ""I am Charley Ross: Gustave Blair, Nelson Miler and the Crime that Changed a Nation"". Searching for Charley Ross. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
16. ^ The Impossible H. L. Mencken, edited by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, 1991, Doubleday, pp. 337-339.

Bibliography[edit]

• Carrie Hagen, we is got him: The Kidnapping that Changed America ISBN 1590200861 (The Overlook Press, 2011)
• Christian Ross, The Father's Story of Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child ISBN 1275753337 (John E. Potter, 1876)
• Ernest Kahlar Alix, Ransom Kidnapping in America, 1874–1974: The Creation of a Capital Crime ISBN 0809308495(Southern Illinois University Press, 1978
• Louis Solomon,  Great Unsolved Crimes ISBN 0-590-03020-5 (Scholastic Book Services, 1976)
• Norman Zierold, Little Charley Ross OCLC 709440306 (Little, Brown & Company, 1967)

• William H. Westervelt (Defendant), E. E. Barclay Life, trial and conviction of William H. Westervelt, for the abduction of little Charley Ross ... OCLC 942285029 (Barclay & Co., Philadelphia, 1877)

External links[edit]

• Article at UShistory.org
• "Bring Back Our Darling" sheet music cover and sheet music
• Christian Ross, The Father's Story of Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child (John E. Potter, 1876) Book at Archive.org
• "I Want To See Mamma Once More" Words by George Cooper, Music by E. Mack
• The Charley Project – missing persons database named in honor of Charley Ross.
• Works by or about Kidnapping of Charley Ross at Internet Archive