Five Plead Guilty in Kidnapping of Detroit Man Who Went Viral Helping a 'Blind' Influencer and Received Over $100,000
A Detroit man in Wayne County, Michigan, became the target of a kidnapping plot by relatives after he went viral on social media for helping a stranger and received more than $100,000 in gifts. Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced on November 4 that five defendants have pleaded guilty in the case: four admitted kidnapping conspiracy and federal firearms offenses, and a fifth had previously pleaded guilty to money laundering.
According to the New York Post and Detroit station WXYZ, the victim is Curtis Dixon. In August 2025, TikTok creator Zach Dereniowski, known as MDMotivator, with more than 28 million followers, pretended to be blind in a video, and Dixon offered to help him. Dixon, who was struggling financially and planning to pawn his wedding ring, received $1,000 on the spot, according to reports, and Dereniowski then launched a GoFundMe for him.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, citing court filings and the defendants' admissions at their plea hearings, the viral moment was highly publicized: the influencer raised money for Dixon and gave him over $100,000, a new car, and other gifts. Dixon's nephew, Roland Chatmon, 37, of Detroit, then set his sights on the money. On August 24, 2025, Chatmon spoke by phone with his brother, who was in jail, and on the recorded jail call the two hatched a plan to take the money from their uncle and laughed about it, bringing in several other conspirators.
On September 1, 2025, the group put the plan into action. One conspirator lured Dixon by pretending to need a ride, while Chatmon gave directions by cell phone as Dixon drove. After Dixon parked, the group carjacked him at gunpoint, hog-tied him, and kept him hostage in his own truck, driving him around trying to get money out of his bank accounts while repeatedly pistol-whipping and beating him.
After making cash withdrawals, the conspirators wanted more. Dixon offered up a safe at his house with some cash, so Chatmon and Dneiqua Stroman, 43, of Pontiac, broke into his house and stole the safe. They also tied up Chatmon's aunt and left her in a bathtub. The group then left Dixon on the ground next to his truck, set the truck on fire, and fled, later meeting Kenneth Anderson, 54, of Pontiac, who helped them move money from Dixon's Cash App account into their own accounts.
The Justice Department said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Attorney's Office led the investigation. On September 25, 2025, the ATF executed search warrants at five residences in Detroit, Rochester Hills, and Pontiac, and arrested all the suspects.
The five who pleaded guilty are Roland Chatmon, 37; Leica Lopez Martinez, 33, of Lake Orion; Ieasha Stroman, 38, of Pontiac; and Dneiqua Stroman, who admitted kidnapping conspiracy and federal firearms offenses; and Kenneth Anderson, who had previously pleaded guilty to money laundering. The four principal defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of seven years in federal prison and maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment. Their sentencings are scheduled for February 3, 2027 (Martinez), February 9, 2027 (Dneiqua Stroman), February 25, 2027 (Chatmon), and March 15, 2027 (Ieasha Stroman). Anderson was previously sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew R. Picek and Diane N. Princ, and the pleas were announced with James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Detroit Field Division.
Dixon told WXYZ that he has not recovered all of the donated money and is now struggling to pay rent, and that the hardest part is knowing his own relatives were behind the kidnapping and robbery. 'When I found out it was family, I was so hurt. I couldn't believe it,' he said. 'I expected somebody on the streets to do it to me before a family member would.' He added: 'I'd rather be broke and happy, any day. I'd rather be broke and happy than rich and have to look over my shoulder.'
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 底特律西奥多·莱文联邦法院法庭资料图（Carol M. Highsmith摄，公共领域，经Wikimedia Commons；非涉案人员图）
