This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A man who used to work in tech in Seattle was sentenced to prison for facilitating three separate fraud schemes — involving work, the pandemic and his love life.
Westcott Francis-Curley, 31, will spend three years in prison and will have to pay nearly $700,000 in restitution after being found guilty of two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington Friday.
“Mr. Francis-Curley’s fraud spiral stemmed from greed,” Acting U.S. Attorney Miller said via the release. “After his employer discovered his theft, he stole from a program designed to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic. And when those proceeds were gone, he committed identity theft against his former romantic partner. This sentence is an important step to break the cycle of fraud.”
Former Seattle tech worker begins scheme in 2023
Francis-Curley has been in custody since March 2024, following an indictment in August 2023.
The attorney’s office, citing records filed in the case, stated Francis-Curley started his first scheme in 2019 when he embezzled money from his former employer by misusing cloud computing resources and accounts he had access to as an employee.
He used employer funds and his employee authorization to purchase cloud computing resources and then sell or lease them back to the company, paying himself with company money — obtaining more than $550,000.
With his half million, Francis-Curley went on trips using private jets, stayed in luxury hotels and paid for a penthouse at Seattle’s Harbor Steps apartment complex.
The attorney’s office said that even after he was caught, he emailed customer service and corporate executives to try to get another half-million dollars.
Money meant for small businesses stolen
In 2020, Francis-Curley struck again, this time defrauding the COVID-19 assistance Paycheck Protection Program that was designed to help small businesses during the pandemic. Using fake companies, he obtained nearly $100,000 — taking money from small businesses in need.
His latest scheme in October 2022 gained him another $1,000. He obtained a credit card in the name of his former significant other and officials said the unpaid bill continues to impact the victim.
“He had a comfortable life and a lucrative job, but that wasn’t enough,” Assistant United States Attorney David T. Martin wrote in asking for a three-year sentence. “Leveraging a bit of Google research and the trust of his employer, Francis-Curley — in his own words — ‘found a way to make as much money as’ he wanted. Within weeks of commencing the scheme, he was living large: private jets, luxury hotels, cash gifts to friends and family, monthly credit card bills approaching six figures — the list goes on. In two months, he went from paying himself $13,000, to a quarter-million dollars, to — he hoped — a half-million dollars. Only getting caught stopped that unabashed escalation.”
The attorney’s office said the $689,675 in restitution will go to Francis-Curley’s former employer, the Small Business Administration and the person whose identity he used for credit card fraud.
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