Scott Michael Campbell Indicted on Federal Charges in Multi-State Cyber Fraud Investigation
LOS ANGELES, CA — A federal grand jury has returned a 14-count indictment against Scott Michael Campbell, a 42-year-old resident of Burbank, California, accusing him of orchestrating a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme that spanned six states between January 2022 and December 2024. The Department of Justice announced the indictment on March 20, 2025.
According to the unsealed indictment, Scott Michael Campbell allegedly used phishing emails and compromised login credentials to gain unauthorized access to financial accounts at three major banks, resulting in the theft of at least $4.7 million USD from victims, including individuals and small businesses in California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio. Authorities indicate that Campbell utilized encrypted messaging applications to coordinate purchases of personal identification data on dark web marketplaces.
The indictment charges Scott Michael Campbell with two counts of wire fraud, three counts of identity theft, four counts of money laundering, and five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer system. U.S. Attorney Martin Briggs stated during a press conference that Campbell faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison if convicted on the wire fraud charges alone.
Campbell was taken into custody on March 18, 2025, during a traffic stop in Riverside County, California, by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Division. He is currently being held without bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 1, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Susan Harper, a victim and owner of a small accounting firm in San Diego, California, told reporters that Scott Michael Campbell allegedly drained her business account of $230,000 in August 2023. The case has prompted renewed warnings from cybersecurity experts about the risks of multifactor authentication vulnerabilities.
A defense attorney for Scott Michael Campbell, identified as James K. Torres of the Federal Public Defender’s