From this morning's Cedar Rapids Gazette: (Aug 1, 2003) ------------------------------------------------------------ C.R. man arrested in Internet genealogy scam By Christoph Trappe The Gazette Friday, August 01, 2003, 10:01:40 PM CEDAR RAPIDS -- Local investigators say they have cracked a genealogy Internet scam that spread across the nation and overseas. Police on Friday arrested Elias Abodeely II, 22, of 340 Owen St. NW, on suspicion of identity theft and three felonies -- first-degree theft, money laundering and ongoing criminal conduct. The crimes are punishable by up to 47 years in prison. Investigators claim Abodeely masterminded a 3-year genealogy scam that netted at least $14,000 and between 220 and 260 victims -- a handful of them from overseas. The total could be higher, but investigators haven't added up everything yet, said Cedar Rapids police investigator Greg Koenighain. Many visitors to Abodeely's genealogy Web sites signed up for what they thought was a five-day trial period, with the option of canceling after that time was up. They supplied financial information but found they were unable to cancel memberships and that money was taken out of their accounts or that their checks were cashed, police charged. "I got onto the site and all it does is bounce me into free sites I could get into without paying," said Glenn Oden, 59, of Graham, Wash., who said he lost almost $100 by signing up at the genealogy site. "I'm looking for the cancellation logo and there's none -- not anywhere inside the site. A few days go by and, guess what, he cashes the (online) check." At other sites, the cancellation button didn't work, Koenighain said. Then, one day in April, Oden said, his electronic check number was turned around and the check was cashed again. The identity theft charge stems from an accusation that Abodeely stole four women's Social Security numbers and used the numbers to establish accounts he used to process credit cards. "His associates solicited people for employment in data processing," Koenighain said. "The women gave them this info. They don't even know Abodeely." The Iowa Attorney's General Office received 84 complaints about Web sites linked to Abodeely dating back to 2000, said Bill Brauch, director of the office's Consumer Protection Division. Abodeely was booked and released from the Linn County Jail on Friday afternoon. Two more arrests are pending, Koenighain said. At least one of Abodeely's Web sites -- genseekers.com -- was still operating Friday, but officials were shutting it down, Koenighain said. Dick Eastman of Northborough, Mass., who publishes the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter to about 20,000 subscribers, said he received about 100 complaints about Abodeely's Web sites. "It's a clever little scam. He's very subtle," he said. "He says (he has) access to millions (of records), and one e-mail even said he has access to billions of records." ************************************************ Several people asked, so I thought I would post this follow-up message to everyone: Yes, please feel free to re-post this information elsewhere as you see fit. This article is NOT restricted to Plus Edition subscribers only. However, I would appreciate your attributing the information to Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter at http://www.eogn.com. Thank you. - Dick Eastman Thought you all needed to see this! Lanita