DETROIT – Chanise Coyne, 46, was sentenced today to 5 years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to executing a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme involving fictional child modeling events, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Coyne previously pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud and admitted that she obtained over $4.6 million from a local family by fraudulently claiming that the money would be used to pay advance fees for their young daughter’s participation in modeling events across the country. According to court records, Coyne generated false and fraudulent records—including fake text messages, emails, and invoices—relating to the supposed placement of that girl in modeling events. The money obtained by Coyne was fraudulently misappropriated for her own benefit and not used in connection with the placement of the young girl in a single modeling event. Instead, Coyne used significant sums of her fraud proceeds for gambling. According to court records, while executing her fraud, Coyne also spent over $200,000 for Taylor Swift concert tickets in Florida. Coyne was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,669,962.76 and serve three years on supervised release following the completing of her custodial sentence. “Coyne used a child’s aspirations as a smokescreen for a multimillion‑dollar fraud against a family. And when you prey on families, you will pay for it,” stated U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
“This was not a mistake or a momentary lapse in judgment. This was a calculated, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme that preyed on a family’s trust and a child’s aspirations for personal financial gain,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Those who build their lifestyle on lies, deception, and stolen money should expect serious consequences. FBI Detroit will continue aggressively pursuing fraudsters who target Michigan families and holding them accountable for every dollar they steal.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind. Related forfeiture matters are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Fasbinder.