She ran a fake review farm. 10,000 five star reviews. One client was a money laundering front. The FBI followed the reviews.
A woman operates a fake review business. Writes five star reviews for businesses. One client is laundering money. FBI investigates the laundering. Follows the fake reviews. Finds her.
She wrote reviews for a living.
Five stars. Custom text. Verified purchase badges.
$5 per review.
10,000 reviews across 200 accounts.
For restaurants. Hotels. Products.
Clients paid through PayPal.
One client stood out.
A car wash in New Jersey.
That ordered 500 five star reviews.
For a car wash with no parking lot.
And no customers.
The car wash was a money laundering front.
The FBI was already watching it.
They followed the digital trail.
From the fake reviews.
To the review accounts.
To her PayPal.
To her apartment.
In Arizona.
Where she ran the farm.
The FBI was investigating a car wash money laundering operation. Followed the fake reviews. 500 five stars for a business with no customers. The reviews led to her. In Arizona. Running a review farm from her couch. The fake stars pointed to a real crime.