A Michigan woman is accused of defrauding a family out of more than $4.6 million in a scheme in which she pretended to help their daughter at various modeling events, according to prosecutors.
The little girl’s family paid Chanise Coyne millions for what they believe are “expenses related to those events,” reads the indictment charging Coyne with seven counts of fraud and five counts of money laundering.
To carry out the scheme, Coyne, 46, created fake records that appeared to be related to modeling events from across the US and “impersonated a third party” to support the scam, according to prosecutors.
Instead of placing the family’s daughter in modeling gigs, Coyne used the family’s gambling money, including payments made on the FanDuel gambling platform, prosecutors said.
Coyne, who lives in New Boston, was arrested by FBI agents on Thursday, February 26, in connection with the scheme, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement released that day.
“This defendant is suspected to have taken advantage of the family’s love for their daughter, stole their nest egg, and gambled away it,” said the American Attorney. Jerome F. Gorgon said the statement.
Coyne is represented by an attorney John D. Dakmakwho did not respond immediately Us Weekly’s request for comment on Friday, February 27.
At his Feb. 26 arraignment, Coyne pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show.
Coyne’s alleged child fraud scheme began at least in April 2023 and lasted about two years, until April 2025, according to the indictment.
“The purpose of this fraud scheme was for Coyne to obtain money and enrich himself by, among other things, presenting false and fraudulent material to Victim A and his family members regarding a job allegedly related to Coyne’s alleged placement of Victim A’s daughter in modeling events,” the indictment said.
Coyne “misappropriated” nearly all of the more than $4.6 million he paid in the alleged scheme, according to prosecutors.
While carrying out the scam, he impersonated a person he pretended to be in contact with in order to organize a child modeling event, the indictment said.
A New York City man has been charged with allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a woman as part of a “romance scam” that began shortly after they matched on the popular dating app Bumble. Brandon Dae Up Kiehm is accused of stealing nearly $272,000 from a 44-year-old woman he swiped on in Manhattan. […]
Finally, prosecutors wrote in the file that “Victim A’s daughter did not participate in a single modeling event because of Coyne’s work.”
The indictment lists Coyne as having been sent to multiple charges. The largest wire transfer mentioned in the filing was a $160,000 transfer to Coyne in March 2024.
That same month, Coyne made five separate payments of $20,000 to FanDuel on his debit card, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit notes that the money came from “illegal activity.”
“Those who think they can swindle Michigan families out of their hard earned money need to think again,” Jennifer Runyanspecial agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, the statement said. “The FBI will identify you, investigate you and arrest you.”
Coyne was released from federal custody on a $10,000 unsecured bond on Feb. 26, according to court records.
