A Pennsylvania suburb is in shock after a student – who is reportedly the president of his senior class and a varsity athlete — was charged with hundreds of felonies for allegedly running a “large-scale criminal network” by perpetrating a widespread catfishing and sextortion scheme.
Zachariah Abraham Meyers, an 18-year-old senior at the local high school in Peters Township, a semi-rural town of 23,000 residents 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, faces 304 charges ranging from sexual exploitation of and sexual abuse of children to unlawful contact with minors and wiretap law violations, local news outlets reported over the weekend.
“Catfishing” is the use of a fake or deceptive online persona to target others, with “sextortion” being the process of procuring intimate photos from a victim and using the images to extort money or favors.
Peters Township is considered one of Pennsylvania’s most desirable communities, with highly rated schools, extensive home ownership, and a median income well exceeding $140,000.
Authorities said Meyers used photos of other people to catfish the victims, including posing as a Dutch adult film actress, according to local news outlets.
“Meyers was able to deceive and coerce juvenile males into sending explicit pornographic images and videos of themselves,” law enforcement said in their report.
Police accuse Meyers of targeting fellow students ranging from ages 14-17 at Peters Township High School across multiple social media platforms, including Snapchat and TikTok. Some 1,200 students in grades 9-12 attend the school.
In one case, authorities allege that Meyers, who is listed as a varsity member of the school’s volleyball team, directed a juvenile to have sexual intercourse with two adult men, record video inside a gym locker room, and then send those videos to an account.
Residents were in disbelief.
“It scares the bejesus out of me,” resident Kim Bonifield, 59, told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
“I had no clue this was happening in my backyard,” said a local mother whose son graduated a couple years ago.
“Our entire Peters Township School community is profoundly saddened and troubled by the recent events that have affected our families,” said a message the school district sent to families on Saturday. “Events like these can be deeply unsettling for our students, staff, and families.”
According to the Post Gazette:
At least 14 teenagers sent explicit photos after they were contacted by accounts traced back to Mr. Meyers, many of which used some variation of the name “Claire Mauve.” The Claire Mauve account would eventually prompt some of the boys to move their communications to Telegram, a cloud-based messaging platform.
Peters police said in the criminal complaint in Mr. Meyers’ case that he coerced one of the teenagers to secretly record video inside the wrestling locker room at least six times, victimizing at least 10 other teenage boys who didn’t know they were being recorded.
The teen then told authorities that the identity behind the request, allegedly Meyers, told the student he needed something “to keep my silence.”
According to the complaint, that same teenager was allegedly coerced by Meyers into engaging in sex acts with two adult men.
Other sextortion demands to other teenagers included demands for $500 gift cards, or the compromising images would be sent to their families or friends.
Meyers was being held in the Washington County Jail without bail and faces a preliminary hearing Friday, according to local reports.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
