A social media influencer will serve 14 years in prison after his plot to take over a website at gunpoint backfired

A social media influencer will serve 14 years in prison after his plot to take over a website at gunpoint backfired



Rossi Lorathio Adams II, 27, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, acquired the sentence Monday soon after he was observed responsible of just one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by drive, threats and violence, in accordance to a statement from the US Attorney’s Business for the Northern District of Iowa.

Adams, also regarded as “Polo,” established a social media company named “Point out Snaps” in 2015 though he was enrolled as a scholar at Iowa Condition University. His social media accounts on platforms these kinds of as Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter experienced over a million followers at a single issue, the statement said. The site’s articles included movie and pics of “younger grownups engaged in crude conduct, drunkenness, and nudity,” in accordance to the assertion. Followers of Condition Snaps utilized the slogan “Do It For State,” and Adams desired to buy the net domain doitforstate.com to expand his firm, the statement said.

Adams attempted to persuade a Cedar Rapids resident who experienced registered the domain with GoDaddy.com to market it to him many moments concerning 2015 and 2017, the statement reported.

In June 2017, Adams drove his cousin, Sherman Hopkins Jr., to the household of the area proprietor. Hopkins, a convicted felon, broke into the man’s residence with a mobile cell phone, stolen gun and taser when donning pantyhose on his head and darkish sun shades, the statement stated. He also experienced a note from Adams to the area proprietor with directions on how to transfer the domain.

Hopkins held the gun to the area owner’s head and pistol whipped him many occasions before the gentleman was ready to attain control of the gun. Through the wrestle, the gentleman was shot in the leg just before he shot Hopkins various instances in the upper body and then referred to as law enforcement, in accordance to the statement. Hopkins survived the taking pictures and was sentenced to 20 a long time in prison.

Adams was convicted in April and was sentenced to 168 months in federal jail Monday by United States District Court docket Decide C.J. Williams. He has been requested to shell out $9,000 in restitution, just about $4,000 or prosecution charges and $22,000 in attorney charges as part of his sentence. He was applying a court docket-appointed lawyer all through the trail but it was later found that Adams was still earning “substantial amounts of funds” even though his scenario was pending, the statement reported.



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