Pennsylvanian man was declared for forged his own mafia invitation to fraudulent ransom money from his victims, ABC27 It has been reported.
“Joshua B. Fernando, 27, of Salisbury Town, has been sentenced to 6-23 months after pleading guilty to forgerying his own trickery, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office,” the outlet said. He was also sentenced to two years of probation.
According to the DA's office, Fernando told the victim he was captured by the mafia when he traveled to Europe for a business trip in May 2024. Fernando told the victims that if he doesn't receive the ransom money, the mafia would kill him.
The victim told the DA's office: “Fernando was the first to say he was involved in a car accident with a bulletproof vehicle owned by a mafia boss while in the UK.” Fernando told the victims he needed money to repay the damage caused by the accident.
Fernando called the victim again and told them that the mafia boss would kill him if he didn't receive the money, the DA's office detailed. Fernando kept calling for several days.
“Fernando sent pictures of the victim hurting face and used a VPN to conceal his true location according to the DA's office. According to the report, the video sent to the victim showed a masked man behind the knee, a masked man behind the gun being on his knee.
According to the DA's office, Fernando scams $126,500 from the victim. The victim reported the incident to the London Metropolitan Police and the US Embassy due to Fernando's frequent phone calls and cash requests.
The victim told the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI that he was being scam “when Fernando returned from the kidnapping.”
Police found evidence on Fernando's phone while investigating that he had plotted a fake trick. Police also found Fernando tried to withdraw $130,000 from his bank account while in Lancaster County.
According to the DA's office, Fernando ultimately admitted to police that he falsified his own invitation to get money from the victim.
