Man Posed as Teanna Trump to Scam NFL & NBA Stars

Federal prosecutors have charged a man from Georgia with orchestrating a wide-ranging fraud and sex trafficking scheme that allegedly targeted professional athletes by impersonating an adult film star online.

Photo Credit: X @TeannaTrump

34-year-old Kwamaine Jerell Ford of Buford, Georgia, has been indicted on 22 federal charges, including wire fraud, computer fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and sex trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

The case has drawn attention from both the NFL Players Association and federal investigators after dozens of athletes in the National Football League and National Basketball Association were allegedly targeted.

According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme began as early as November 2020, while Kwamaine Jerell Ford was in federal custody. Authorities say he used a two-pronged phishing tactic to gain access to athletes’ private accounts.

He allegedly posed online as Teanna Trump, offering to send explicit content to athletes. At the same time, he impersonated Apple customer support, sending text messages that requested login credentials or multi-factor authentication codes under the pretense of granting access to those videos.

Dozens of victims were reportedly tricked into handing over their account details, allowing Ford to access iCloud accounts and obtain sensitive financial information.

“This individual was supposedly able to access many athletes’ iCloud accounts and stole victim information, including credit cards,” the NFLPA said in a memo to agents.

Prosecutors allege that the stolen data was then used to fund personal spending, continuing a pattern similar to Ford’s prior conviction in 2019 for comparable phishing activity.

Authorities say the case escalated beyond financial fraud.

In May 2021, Ford allegedly used the same false identity to recruit and coerce a woman into engaging in commercial sex acts with professional athletes. Prosecutors said the woman was misled by promises that the encounters would advance her modeling career.

A tale as old as time. But as we all know, coercion is not consent. And since he had to coerce them into sexual acts that crossed the threshold of a crime.

Ford is accused of arranging travel, negotiating payments with athletes, and taking a portion of the proceeds. He also allegedly used additional fake identities to threaten the woman and maintain control over her participation.

According to the indictment, some encounters were secretly recorded without the athletes’ knowledge or consent.

“Disturbingly, the indictment alleges that Ford went even further and used a fraudulent online persona to traffic a young woman and coerce her to produce hidden camera videos,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.

The NFLPA issued a formal alert to certified agents on March 26, warning that both NFL and NBA players may have been victimized. The memo advised agents that the FBI is continuing to identify potential victims and encouraged any affected players to come forward through official channels.

None of his victims (the athletes who fell victim to the crime) has been publicly named.

Ford’s actions come after a prior federal conviction. In 2019, he was found guilty of computer fraud and identity theft for hacking into more than 100 accounts belonging to athletes and entertainers, spending approximately $325,000 using stolen financial data.

Prosecutors said the latest scheme began while he was serving time for those offenses.

Yes, you read that right, Kwamaine Jerell Ford posed as a Teanna Trump to phish NFL and NBA players, all while he was serving time in prison for doing the EXACT same thing.

Ford pleaded not guilty to all charges during a federal court appearance on March 13. A magistrate judge ordered that he remain in custody without bail pending trial.

“This time, he allegedly escalated his criminal activity,” said an FBI official involved in the case, noting that the investigation remains ongoing.

This type of thing isn't new. There are scammers out there pretending to be porn stars all day long. What makes this story unique is that he did it for really rich people (NFL and NBA players).

A porn star (or celebrity) phishing scheme is basically where a person creates a fake account pretending to be someone famous, like a porn star. Then they talk men into sending them money for some made-up reason. Most of these scams are obvious. They often take place on accounts with like 17 followers and not from the person's verified accounts.

Authorities say the combination of celebrity impersonation and technical spoofing used in this case made it especially effective. But if you really think about it, why would someone famous be contacting you, asking you for $50 from a fake account with 26 followers?

Don't fall victim to these scams yourself. If a person is contacting you from an unverified social media account, you can pretty much bet it's a scam.