(WXYZ) — A metro Detroit woman is facing federal charges over an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme involving supposed child modeling events.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Chanise Coyne, 46, from New Boston, is charged with seven counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
The feds allege that Coyne obtained more than $4.6 million from a family by claiming that the money would be used for advanced fees associated with the family's young daughter participating in modeling events across the country.
According to the indictment, Coyne generated false records that allegedly showed the supposed placement of that girl in modeling events and she also impersonated a third party.
Feds say that Coyne used the money for significant gambling expenditures, including multiple alleged money laundering transactions on the FanDuel online gambling platform.
“Fraud schemes that prey on the emotional bonds of families are egregious. This defendant allegedly took advantage of a family’s love for their daughter, stole their nest egg, and then gambled it away. We will pursue fraud schemes in all their forms,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement.
