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Virginia man sentenced for $1.3M fraud schemes, receipt of child pornography

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A Glen Allen man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for wire fraud, engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction using fraud proceeds, and receipt of child pornography.

“Not only did the defendant defraud innocent victims through a million dollar investment fraud scheme designed to maintain his lifestyle, but he also painfully contributed to the exploitation of children by collecting thousands of materials depicting child sexual abuse,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are thankful to the FBI and USPIS for their thorough investigative efforts and close partnership with our Office to hold the defendant accountable for his appalling conduct.”

According to court documents, Gordon G. Miller III, 56, was the sole owner and operator of G3 Systems, Inc., a software engineering company, and G3i Ventures, LLC, purportedly a venture capital company. Starting around 2017, Miller began to engage in overlapping fraud schemes to prevent his companies from going out of business and to maintain his lifestyle in the absence of legitimate income.

One scheme involved the solicitation of contacts in an online question-and-answer forum, where Miller falsely represented himself as an entrepreneur with a significant net worth, multiple advanced degrees, and expertise investing in technology companies. Between 2017 and 2018, through various misrepresentations, Miller fraudulently obtained approximately $1 million from at least 10 individuals through this scheme.

Another fraud entailed the diversion of a federal subcontract to G3 Systems, which he obtained using misrepresentations regarding his educational experience. Once he secured the subcontract, Miller submitted fraudulent timesheets and invoices to obtain more than $300,000 in payments from the prime contractor. Between 2018 and 2019, Miller took checks he received from the contractor to a check-cashing store in Richmond to convert the proceeds of the contract-fraud scheme to cash.

During the investigation of the above-described fraud schemes, federal agents obtained a search warrant for Miller’s residence. During the preliminary examination of devices seized from Miller’s home, agents discovered child sexual abuse material. After the execution of a search warrant targeting such material, and based on a review of the material which continued following Miller’s guilty plea, agents discovered more than 11,000 images or videos constituting child pornography, including images or videos Miller obtained between August 2017 and September 2020.

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