Lang
9/19/25
Four men have been sentenced for their part in a multi-state fraud scam that targeted local residents.
According to public court documents, between March 2022 and April 2024, 26-year-old Russell Tafron Weatherspoon, 23-year-old Karl Andre Dieudonne, 32-year-old Demonte Tequis Brazil, and 25-year-old Gregory Lamar Scorza 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.
Weatherspoon led and organized the 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.
The four men have since been sentenced to federal prison. Weatherspoon was sentenced to 130 months, Dieudonne to 36 months, Brazil to 51 months, and Scorza to 72 months in. There is no parole in the federal system.
One additional man has been charged in the conspiracy but has not yet been arrested.