Nevada Woman Charged with Obstructing Justice by Falsifying Records while Released on Bail

NEWARK, N.J. – A Nevada woman will make her initial court appearance today for allegedly falsifying records in connection with criminal charges she is currently facing in the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Anna Kline, aka “Jordana Weber,” is charged by complaint with one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation. She was arrested Aug. 10, 2022, and is scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig Denney in the District of Nevada.

According to the complaint:

On July 31, 2019, Kline and a conspirator, Jason Torres, were charged by criminal complaint in the District of New Jersey for their roles in a $7 million fraudulent advance fee scheme orchestrated by Kline between April 2017 and July 2019.

While out on bail on this charge, Kline, through her then-attorney, provided the government with a .pdf document that purported to be a portion of a Cellebrite report showing iMessages between Kline and Torres showing Torres making threats toward Kline and insinuating that Torres was primarily responsible for the fraudulent advance fee scheme.

A forensic review of the .pdf document revealed that it had been falsified. Kline also presented the fake Cellebrite report to a family court in California as part of a custody dispute between Kline and Torres. During that hearing, Kline represented that the report had been generated by a forensic examiner named “Drew Andrews.” The investigation revealed that “Andrews” did not exist, but was actually an alter-ego of Kline’s that she used to deceive the California family court, her attorney, and a forensic expert.

In addition to the fraudulent Cellebrite report, Kline also provided the government a computer that she claimed contained an iTunes backup that included the alleged text messages from Torres. A forensic review of the computer revealed that data on the computer, including the iTunes backup, had been manipulated. Kline changed, or caused to be changed, certain time stamps on the computer to make it appear as if the iTunes backup and other files stored on the computer were created in April 2020, when the fictional “Andrews” purportedly ran the fraudulent Cellebrite report.

The obstruction charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charge. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Torntore of the U.S. Attorney’s Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.