Tag Archive for: woman

A Michigan woman faces prison after trying to hire an assassin through a fake website

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By Faith Karimi, CNN

Wendy Wein wanted her ex-husband dead.

In July of 2020 the Michigan woman came across a website, Rent-A-Hitman, that promised to “handle your delicate situation” privately and in a timely manner.

The site boasts having almost 18,000 field operatives who can do a job anywhere in the United States. It features testimonials from satisfied clients, including a man who wrote that RentAHitman “handled my disgruntled employee issue promptly while I was out of town on vacation.”

So Wein filled out a form on the site, seeking consultation for her issue.

“This is kind of weird that your company is not on the deep or dark web,” she wrote in a message to a man she believed was the site’s chief consultant, Guido Fanelli. CNN obtained a copy of the message. “I prefer not going to jail,” she added. “Thanks for your time.”

That didn’t stop Wein from offering later to pay $5,000 to have her husband killed.

But there was a problem.

Guido Fanelli is actually Bob Innes, a California man who runs the website. Rent-A-Hitman’s “operatives” have never actually killed anybody. Instead, the site exists to dupe people who are looking for hired killers.

And Wein is now headed to prison — one of several Rent-A-Hitman “clients” who’ve been found guilty of using the site to solicit a murder.

The site’s owner turns murderous ‘clients’ over to police

What started as a website for an internet security business has turned, by accident, into online bait for people looking to get their enemies killed. Their service requests go to Innes, who hands serious inquiries over to law enforcement.

Innes, who lives in Fairfield, California, says he’s left red flags all over his site hinting that it’s a trap. For starters, the website openly suggests that it offers illegal services. Its phony testimonials include one from a woman who’s “ready to mingle” after she caught her husband cheating with a babysitter.

Its 18,000 “field operatives” are the estimated number of law enforcement agencies nationwide. At the bottom of the site, a link to check if your credit card has been stolen takes users to the FBI’s…

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Woman pleads guilty to trying to hire fake ‘hitman’ to kill ex-husband

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MONROE COUNTY, MI – A Rockwood woman has pled guilty to attempting to hire a hitman through a fake website to kill her ex-husband.

Wendy Lynn Wein, 52, pled guilty to charges of solicitation of murder and using a computer to commit a crime on Nov. 12, according to Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The terms of Wein’s plea agreement include a cap of 108 months in prison on the minimum sentence, officials said. Wein will appear before Monroe Circuit Judge Daniel White for sentencing on Jan. 13, 2022.

In spring 2020, police were contacted by the owner of the website titled “Rent-A-Hitman,” after Wein filled out a “service request form” and asked for a consultation with a professional to help her with an “issue” regarding her ex-husband, according to Michigan State Police.

Tip from fake hit man rental website leads to arrest of woman soliciting murder of ex-husband

The domain was created as a cyber-security test site, police said, adding that the website owner was concerned Wein was serious and could be attempting to kill the man.

Despite using a pseudonym, Wein completed the request with her personal identifying information, officials said.

With assistance from two state police undercover narcotic units, MANTIS and LAWNET, an undercover officer posed as a hitman on July 17 and met with Wein in a South Rockwood parking lot, police said.

During the meeting, Wein offered the undercover officer $5,000 to kill her ex-husband and provided him with an upfront payment to cover travel expenses out of state, police said.

Soon after handing over the payment, Wein was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail.

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Hacker Known as Max Is a 55-Year-Old Woman, Prosecutors Say

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(Bloomberg) — Alla Witte’s plans for a new career as a computer programmer included helping clients make enough money to see the world, according to YouTube videos and social media posts. She was in her late 40s with a degree in applied mathematics and an itch to do computer programming.



a close up of a sign: Epstein Friend Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested By FBI

© Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
Epstein Friend Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested By FBI

But there was a darker side to Witte’s interest in computers, according to federal prosecutors. In the six years leading to October 2018, Witte, a Latvian citizen who grew up in Russia, allegedly transformed from amateur developer to a key cog in a cybercrime syndicate known as Trickbot.

Witte, now 55, assumed the identity “Max” and started writing illicit code, according to a federal indictment unsealed on Feb. 8 after she was detained in Miami. She’s since been transferred to Cleveland, where she’s one of seven alleged members of the Trickbot gang facing charges for their role in a global fraud, data theft and ransomware operation with roots in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.



a close up of a sign: Epstein Friend Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested By FBI

© Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
Epstein Friend Ghislaine Maxwell Arrested By FBI

But Witte is the first alleged member of the Trickbot cybergang ever to be detained in the U.S. She appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge on June 4 for her arraignment, where she waived her rights to a detention hearing. She hasn’t yet made any pleadings in the case.

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Witte’s public defender in Cleveland, Ed Bryan, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

If Witte were to cooperate with authorities, her insights could be invaluable at a time when the Biden administration and a newly formed Justice Department task force are taking aim at ransomware and other cybercrime, said Alex Holden, the founder of the cyber-investigations firm Hold Security. She could also help U.S. officials understand the structure of a tenacious and wide-ranging cybercrime operation with so many tentacles that it managed to evade a pair of takedown operations by U.S. Cyber Command and Microsoft Corp. in 2020, he said.



a close up of a keyboard: RF Keyboard computer

© Photographer: Oliver Nicolaas Ponder/EyeEm via Getty Images
RF Keyboard computer

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Latvian woman charged for alleged role in transnational ransomware scheme targeting 11 countries | Washington Examiner

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A Latvian national faces federal charges for allegedly participating in a transnational plot using ransomware to steal money and other confidential information from victims, including Americans.

Alla Witte, 55, was arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on Friday on 19 counts in a 47-count indictment brought against the “Trickbot Group,” named for the Trickbot malware used in the plot, according to the Justice Department.

As part of their cybercrime scheme, Witte and other conspirators, who operated in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Suriname, allegedly began using the malware in November 2015 to steal from individuals, hospitals, schools, public utilities, banks, and governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Russia.

UPTICK IN RANSOMWARE ATTACKS SHARES ‘A LOT OF PARALLELS’ WITH 9/11: WRAY

Witte, who resided in Suriname when the cybercrimes occurred, was a developer for the group and oversaw the creation of computer code used to control the ransomware, obtain payment from victims, and store stolen information, according to court documents.

The group infected millions of computers worldwide, including those belonging to individuals and business entities within the Northern District of Ohio, to harvest credit card information, passwords, social security numbers, and addresses and to steal funds from victims’ bank accounts, the indictment said.

“The Trickbot malware was designed to steal the personal and financial information of millions of people around the world, thereby causing extensive financial harm and inflicting significant damage to critical infrastructure within the United States and abroad,” acting U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan of the Northern District of Ohio said in a Justice Department news release.

A warrant was issued for Witte on Aug. 13, 2020, and she was arrested Feb. 6 in Miami.

Witte faces one count each of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as eight counts of bank fraud and eight counts of aggravated…

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