COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina inmate has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a military sextoriton scheme.
Dexter Lawrence, 37, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his part in a scheme to extort and defraud military members that was operated out of the South Carolina Department of Correction (SCDC).
Records show that Lawrence was in jail serving a 22-year sentence for armed robbery and carjacking.
Evidence presented showed that he smuggled smartphones into prison and used the internet to join dating websites.
Once on the websites he would target young men in the military while posing as a young women. He would ask for nude photographs, then once they were received he and others posed as the young woman's father claiming the girl was underage and that the victim was now a military member in possession of child pornography.
He then threatened to have the military member arrested and dishonorably discharged unless they paid money.
From March 2016 until May 2017, due to this extortion, service members transferred funds to Lawrence, through his co-conspirators, totaling $60,004.09, which investigators traced to at least 25 victims.
United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks sentenced Lawrence to 70 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. This sentence will be served after Lawrence completes his 22-year state prison sentence.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine Orville and Amy Bower prosecuted the case.