Instagram Influencer Allegedly Behind $1.5 Million Scam In New Jersey!

Kayla Massa, an Instagram and YouTube influencer, was arrested on Thursday by federal authorities and charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Massa, known as Kayg0ldi online, and her accomplices allegedly recruited victims over IG by asking for emptied-out bank cards with linked accounts to use to deposit sums of stolen money. According to the unsealed New Jersey federal court complaint, prosecutors say the audacious scheme brought in $1.5 million.

The investigation first began in July 2018 after the United States Postal Service became aware that 53 blank money orders had been stolen from a Berlin, New Jersey post office. It was later discovered that 30 of them had been deposited in various bank accounts, but the money orders were missing a clerk ID. Investigators were also tipped off when they noticed the date, zip code, and dollar amounts (either $990 or $995) were printed in the incorrect font.

After looking into the bank accounts where the money orders were deposited, postal inspectors found two of them (both for $995) had been deposited into a Barrington, New Jersey resident’s account, who was identified in court filings as “J.K.”

When interviewed by Postal Service criminal agents, J.K. said they had responded to an IG post from a user named “Kayg0ldi,” who let J.K. know via DM they could earn up to $5,000 by allowing Kayg0ldi’s friend access to their account for an “unspecified, but short, period of time.”

Per Kayg0ldi, the friend had a clothing line and needed to deposit funds into the account as a “tax write-off.” J.K.’s story is just one of many who were scammed in the scheme. Car dealerships and automotive businesses in South Jersey were also targeted.

Of course, the account led authorities to 22-year-old Kayla, a Burlington County resident with over 338k followers on IG and 107k subscribers on her YouTube channel. Her Insta account is currently private after Quartz contacted the platform. Kayla allegedly used her Instagram Stories to promote the scheme, sharing images of money, bank accounts with large balances, and money orders. Facebook and Snapchat were allegedly also used to “advertise.”

As seen in slides obtained from court documents by Quartz, Massa wrote on the app:

“If you have a bank account and trying make some bread dm me (serious ppl only) ???”

“If you from south jersey, have a bank account and trying make some quick easy money dm me right now ❗️❗️”

According to the complaint against her, Massa “encouraged individuals to empty their bank accounts before providing their debit card and PIN,” and would allegedly tell her marks it was legal and legit.

In addition to Massa, nine others were arrested on February 13: Kayla’s sister, Leire Leian Massa, 19, William Logan, 22, Jordan Herrin, 22, Erasmo Feliciano, 19, Kevin McDaniels, 18, Jabreel Martin, 20, Dezhon McCrae, 20, Andrew Johnson, 21, and Alex Haines, 27.

Between May 2018 and February 2020, the group deposited over 1,600 counterfeit or fraudulent checks, along with over 650 stolen or counterfeit money orders. Original court filings reviewed by the outlet documented that investigators “estimate the total intended loss to be at least $1,015,663.” In a press release, the Department of Justice stated that the crew had obtained at least $1.5 million.

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[Image via Kayg0ldi/YouTube.]