(Council Bluffs) Four Georgia men were sentenced for their role in a nationwide fraud conspiracy.
According to public court documents, between March 2022 and April 2024, Russell Tafron Weatherspoon, 26, Karl Andre Dieudonne, 23, Demonte Tequis Brazil, 32, and Gregory Lamar Scorza, 25, ran a multi-state fraud scam. The scammers led victims in several states across the United States, including Iowa, to believe that an arrest warrant had been issued for them for failing to appear in court. The scammers used names of local law enforcement officers and used an application that spoofed law enforcement phone numbers. The victims were told they would be arrested if a cash bond was not posted. The victims were directed to a bond company or other location to meet and pay a bond for failing to appear as an expert witness pursuant to a subpoena. The scam involved the use of legal terminology, purported court proceedings, and threats of arrest to authenticate the scam.
Weatherspoon led and organized these activities from a Georgia state prison. A drone was used to fly over the prison and drop cell phones into the yard that were then utilized by inmates to make the scam calls. Weatherspoon was in prison following his 2020 convictions for aggravated assault and violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
Weatherspoon was sentenced on April 9, 2025, to 130 months in federal prison. Dieudonne was sentenced on May 13, 2025, to 36 months in federal prison. Brazil was sentenced on May 13, 2025, to 51 months in federal prison. Scorza was sentenced September 9, 2025, to 72 months in federal prison. One additional man has been charged in the conspiracy but has not yet been arrested.
After completing their terms of imprisonment, each defendant will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Victim restitution was also ordered.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Council Bluffs Police Department, Iowa City Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Iowa State Patrol, Omaha Police Department, and Eppley Airport Police.
