A Lancaster County man has been sentenced to 6 to 23 months in prison after admitting to faking his own kidnapping by the mafia in an elaborate ransom scheme.
Joshua B. Fernando, 27, of Salisbury Township, pleaded guilty to scamming victims out of $126,500 by claiming he was being held captive and would be killed if ransom money wasn’t paid.
According to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, Fernando told victims he had traveled to Europe in May 2024 for business, where he allegedly got into a car accident involving a mafia boss’s bulletproof vehicle. He then claimed he needed money to settle the issue.
Later, he escalated the scam, telling victims he had been kidnapped by the mafia and would be executed unless they paid. Over several days, he made multiple ransom demands, sending pictures of his bruised face and even a video of himself on his knees with a masked man holding a gun behind him.
The Scam Unraveled
Fernando used a VPN to hide his location, but his repeated demands for money raised suspicions among the victims, who contacted London Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Embassy.
When he returned home, the victims alerted Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI, who uncovered his withdrawal attempt of $130,000 and evidence of the staged kidnapping on his phone.
Fernando later confessed to the scam, admitting he deceived victims to get money.
Sentencing
In addition to prison time, Fernando was sentenced to two years of probation. His case serves as a cautionary tale about financial scams and extortion schemes.
