Two Florida men have pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges filed in southern Illinois, where they targeted people with fake technical support services.
Michael Austin Seward of Deerfield Beach and Kevin James McCormick of Delray Beach admitted Wednesday they operated a scam called Client Care Experts.
Prosecutors alleged the 32-year-old Seward and the 46-year-old McCormick used pop-up advertisements that looked like system warnings of viruses and malware.
The ads caused the computers to freeze and directed the owners to call a toll-free number, which connected them to a sales representative who continued the fraud by seizing control of the computer and selling remote “tune-up” and anti-virus software.
Federal prosecutors say the scam, which operated nationwide and in several countries from 2013 to 2016, took in over $25 million.
Seward and McCormick are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 18.
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