Feeds

9/11 'entrepreneur' on fraud rap

Bogus face recognition system

  • alert
  • submit to reddit

Security and trust: The backbone of doing business over the internet

A Californian man who claimed to be developing post-9/11 face recognition system has been arrested by Feds probing allegations of fraud.

Ross Rojek, 36, of Sacramento in California, is charged with wire and mail fraud in relation to the operations of a business called Face Information Technology (AKA Face IT), AP reports. FBI investigators also allege in an affidavit made public on Monday that Rojek ran a company called American Equity Group LLC under the alias of Jason Williams.

Rojek allegedly told investors he was developing an advanced face recognition system capable of identifying terrorist suspects. The business was promoted through unsolicited phone calls backed up by an allegedly bogus prospectus.

These approaches resulted in the investment of at least $467,000 by 32 people into Face IT. This money was quickly milked through a series of cash withdrawals, according to bank records.

A further 47 investors put around $590,000 into American Equity Group, a San Francisco-based "real estate investment trust". Part of this money ($218,900) found its way into the coffers of American Entertainment Group - President Ross Rojek - while the rest of the money was allegedly siphoned off from the business.

Federal investigators have thus far been unable to find any evidence of progress on the Face IT project.

"It doesn't seem to be anything he [Rojek] was seriously working on," Karen Twomey Ernst, an FBI spokeswoman, told AP. ®

Related stories

Anti-terror face recognition system flunks tests
Tampa cops send face recognition code packing
Face recognition kit fails in Fla airport
Grampian police trial facial biometrics
Facial ID as plain as the smile on your face

Simplify SSL certificate management across the enterprise

More from The Register

next story
'We're having panic attacks' ... Sony staff and families now threatened in emails
Join us or else say messages purportedly from GOP hackers
Google kills CAPTCHAs: Are we human or are we spammer?
Do you make up these questions, Mr Wonka?
The internet is less free than last year. Thanks a bunch, Snowden
Running around, warning everyone the NSA is spying on us all. What is he like?
Author fined $500k in first US spyware conviction
100,000 creeps buy mobe-watching wares
Nothing illegal to see here: Tribunal says TEMPORA spying is OK
Rules mass surveillance is legal, in principle at least
Sony Pictures struggles as staff details, salaries and films leaked
Fury and Annie now doing the rounds - along with staff's privates
Stupid humans and their EXPENSIVE DATA BREACHES
Non-human cockups only account for 7% of leaks
Australian Government funds effort to secure wearable data pulses
Skipping hand-in-hand with government and insurance company databases
Pay with your credit card at station kiosk? 'Dare Devil' is targeting YOU
Please collect your ticket and change (& ta for the card data)
prev story

Whitepapers

Four customers who never have to replace their PCs again
Reallocate your budget to deliver employee mobility paired with IT management efficiency and corporate security.
Security management 2.0
It’s time to slay the sacred cow of your substantial SIEM investment, and figure out objectively what offers you the best fit moving forward.
The Escalating Threat of DDoS Attacks
With increasing frequency and scale, some of the world’s largest data center and network operators are suffering from crippling Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
Reg Reader Research: SaaS based Email and Office Productivity Tools
Read this Reg reader report which provides advice and guidance for SMBs towards the use of SaaS based email and Office productivity tools.
Putting the design in responsive design
A single, digital site optimised for devices with various screen sizes. With so much information and so many content types, communicating key messages effectively is a challenge.