A Buford man was denied bond last week as he awaits trial after being accused of targeting professional athletes in a two-pronged scheme and sex-trafficking a woman in the process, all while in federal prison.
Kwamaine Jerell Ford, 34, pleaded not guilty on Mar. 13 to nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of computer fraud, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of sex trafficking, according to federal prosecutors.
A U.S. magistrate judge ordered Ford to be held without bail while he awaits trial after his not guilty plea.
The scheme
Prosecutors said the scam began in November 2020, when Ford allegedly obtained login credentials for NFL and NBA athletes through two methods. The first way was posing as a well-known adult film star and offering to send sexually explicit videos to the athletes, officials said.
At the same time, Ford was allegedly spoofing real Apple customer service accounts and posing as an Apple customer support representative. He would then request the victim’s login credentials via text messages so he could access the videos his fraudulent adult film star persona was allegedly trying to send to the victims.
After accessing the victims’ accounts, Ford then allegedly stole their credit and debit card information to pay thousands of dollars in personal spending, officials said.
According to federal court documents, Ford executed over 2,000 unauthorized transactions using the athletes’ credit cards.
Sex trafficking allegations
While posing as the film star in May 2021, Ford allegedly tricked and coerced a woman into engaging in commercial sex acts with professional athletes, falsely promising that the film star would advance the woman’s modeling career.
After tricking the woman, Ford then advertised the woman to the athletes and coordinated her travel, negotiating payments from the athletes in exchange for sex with the victim.
Ford allegedly pressured the woman into filming the sexual encounters without the athlete’s consent. Afterward, he used those videos to engage with other professional athletes.
When the woman began resisting the requests to engage in filming sex acts with the athletes, Ford, while impersonating the adult film star, demanded money in place of the videos, court documents state.
The documents also detail several charges Ford allegedly made using the victim’s cards.
Ford allegedly sex trafficked the woman until September 2024, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors said Ford allegedly committed these acts while serving federal prison time after being convicted of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft for perpetuating similar phishing attacks and spending nearly $325,000 by using victims’ stolen financial information.
In that scheme, Ford targeted high-profile professional athletes and musicians.
FBI Georgia Acting Special Agent in Charge Peter Ellis said his office remains committed to protecting victims from such attacks.
“Kwamaine Ford clearly did not learn from his prior conviction for a similar scheme. This time, he allegedly escalated his criminal activity—stealing identities and money while also moving into coercion and sex trafficking,” Ellis said. “The FBI’s dedicated agents remain committed to staying ahead of schemes like this and protecting the public from individuals who exploit and harm others for personal gain.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bernita B. Malloy and Phyllis Clerk are prosecuting the case against Ford. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Cooper investigated the previous case Ford was imprisoned for.
Despite being denied bond, it remains unclear whether Ford is in federal custody. Court documents indicate he is not in custody.
FOX 5 has reached out to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and Apple for further information on this case.
