(WXYZ) — A metro Detroit woman is facing federal charges over an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving supposed child modeling events.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Chanise Coyne, 46, from New Boston is charged with seven counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
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The feds allege that Coyne obtained more than $4.6 million from a family by claiming that the money would be used for advanced fees associated with the family's young daughter participating in modeling events across the country.
According to the indictment, Coyne generated false records that allegedly showed the supposed placement of that girl in modeling events and she also impersonated a third party.
Feds say that Coyne used the money for significant gambling expenditures, including multiple alleged money laundering transactions on the FanDuel online gambling platform.
“Fraud schemes that prey on the emotional bonds of families are egregious. This defendant allegedly took advantage of a family’s love for their daughter, stole their nest egg, and then gambled it away. We will pursue fraud schemes in all their forms,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement.
Other families in metro Detroit who say they are former customers claim it's not the first time Coyne has scammed people.
Tricia Furnari created the "Chanice Coyne Scam Victims" Facebook group in 2024 after her own experience with the photographer. She said the group had grown quiet in recent months — until news of the federal charges broke.
"We had about 100 people in here but obviously after the news broke yesterday, I have 40 more people added and I have a lot of requests to be added," Furnari said.
Furnari said she first hired Coyne for Santa photos in 2023, and the session went well. She paid upfront and booked again in 2024. That is when the cancellations began.
"She was still really nice about it, we were all understanding, but when she canceled again and said Santa had monkeypox, that's when we all started to get suspicious of her," Furnari said.
Furnari said after she went public with the story and a local news reporter called Coyne, her money (about $400) was refunded. She created the Facebook group to keep people informed, and help others try to recoup their money.
When the indictment was unsealed, Furnari said the dollar amount of $4.6 million stopped her cold.
"I was floored. Read it to my husband, I couldn't believe $4.6 million," Furnari said.
Meagen Hudson says she was also scammed by Coyne. She first took baby photos with Coyne in 2019, which went well, so she booked Coyne again. But in 2023, she says cancellations began piling up and she couldn't get a refund, only promised "credits," which she was never able to book.
Hudson shared messages from Coyne, which cited reasons including kidney stones, COVID-19 and a near-heart attack. In total, Hudson said she lost $375.
"From there, it just started to be things were canceled all the time, and it was 'oh I'm in the hospital, oh my kid has hand, foot, and mouth (disease), oh it's raining,'" Hudson said.
Furnari said that while Coyne was canceling sessions, she was posting photos of herself on expensive and extravagant trips. Furnari was told the money came from gambling winnings on Fanduel.
"We were all told 'oh she won with FanDuel,' that's what we all knew," Furnari said.
Hudson said she hopes the federal case encourages others to come forward.
"I'm not surprised. I think karma got her, and I hope all these other people come out and talk and say hey it's not just this $4 million fraud, she's been scamming people out of money for years," Hudson said.
We attempted to reach both Coyne and her attorney but did not receive a response.
