$25 Million Computer Repair Scam Targeted Internet Browsers

MIAMI, FL — The owners of a South Florida computer tech support company have been accused of purchasing pop-up ads that locked up the browsers of some 40,000 unsuspecting computer users around the world and then tried to sell the victims unnecessary repair services. Thirty-one-year-old Michael Austin Seward of Deerfield Beach and 45-year-old Kevin James McCormick of Delray Beach, were each charged with multiple federal offenses. Their former vice president, 35-year-0ld Grant Clark Wasik of Boynton Beach, is also facing charges.

Prosecutors said that the scam raked in more than $25 million from victims in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, several U.S. territories, all 10 Canadian provinces, the United Kingdom, and several other foreign countries.

The charges were announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Donald S. Boyce of Illinois.

Seward and McCormick allegedly ran the scam out of two tech support companies they owned: Client Care Experts, LLC of Boynton Beach and ABC Repair Tech in Costa Rica.

"The defendants purchased pop-up advertisements, which appeared without warning on consumers’ computer screens and locked up their browsers," according to federal prosecutors. "These pop-ups falsely informed the victims that serious problems, such as viruses or malware, had been detected on their computers."

Victims usually received a warning that they were at serious risk of losing their data and they were instructed to call a toll-free number.

"When the victims called the numbers shown on their screens, they were connected to Client Care salespersons," prosecutors said.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office is cooperating with the federal investigation. In addition, the Florida Attorney General’s Office also brought a civil enforcement action against Client Care.

"The salespersons allegedly convinced the victims to allow them to have remote access to their computers," prosecutors explained. "Once they had accessed the victims’ computers, the indictments charge, the salespersons examined routine computer functions and processes and then tried to convince the victims that these functions and processes were evidence of problems."

The salespersons also ran a system analyzer program on the victims’ computers.

"But, no matter what the program showed, the salespersons allegedly still tried to convince the customers that their computers had serious problems," prosecutors charged.

Sales representatives never told the victims that they could make the pop-ups go away simply by unplugging or rebooting their computers and that the pop-ups were paid advertisements.

Prosecutors said that 14 other employees have been charged with federal fraud violations since April 2017. Ten of the defendants have entered guilty pleas.

Seward is alleged to have been the chief executive officer of Client Care, with McCormick as his chief financial officer. Both men allegedly had an ownership interest in Client Care and ABC Repair Tech and oversaw the operations of both entities.

Wasik allegedly worked as one of the supervisors on the sales floor, also called team leader, before being promoted to sales manager and eventually vice president.

Trial for all three defendants is set for July 23 at the federal courthouse in Benton, Illinois, though a defense motion has been filed seeking to have the case transferred for convenience to East St. Louis, Illinois.

The cases are part of an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis Field Office of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Services.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott A. Verseman, Ranley R. Killian and Nathan D. Stump.

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