International Falls man charged with stealing identity to obtain nude images
ST. PAUL — An International Falls man has been charged with possession of child pornography, identity theft and other crimes after investigators uncovered an identity theft scheme carried out to lure adult and juvenile females into providing nude images of themselves.
More victims may be out there, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators found that Cory Nicholas Maish, 36, stole the identity of another man and then then set up several social media profiles using that man’s name. He used those profiles to persuade the victims to provide nude images.
Friday’s charges relate to two victims, but based on evidence obtained during the investigation, other victims likely unknowingly sent images of themselves to Maish.
Maish obtained the images using the stolen identity of Joshua Stougard. Stougard had no knowledge of the deception. Maish also created profiles using the name Jimmy Ruelle, and using the identifier broncoplayer17. The BCA urges people who believe they are victims of this scheme to contact the BCA at 877-996-6222 to speak with an agent.
The BCA is conducting the investigation with the International Falls Police Department, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office and the Koochiching County Attorney’s Office.
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