Bruce McCain: Cameron Jordan, Catfish Queen. The Alvey Files, Part 5: Lessons Learned

In January we learned of the Facebook “catfishing” scam that had hooked Notre Dame star linebacker Manti’ Te’o into believing his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, whom he had never met, had tragically died. 

We later learned that Kekua was actually a fake hoax, perpetrated by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Many skeptics wondered how could Te’o possibly be fooled by a man impersonating such a talented and attractive young female. Then we met Roger Darnell Alvey. 

As we showed in the first four parts of The Alvey Files here, here, here and here, Roger Alvey was the mastermind behind the internet fraud known by various names of Cameron Elizabeth Jordan, Elizabeth Swindells, Elizabeth Jordan and CJwetsthebed (“CEJ”). Ever defiant to the end, Alvey ultimately signed his court admissions acknowledging what many have believed the past three years. Specifically, Alvey 

admitted, among other things, that:

· He has been, maintaining an online internet presence using the fictional and pseudonymous names, “Cameron Elizabeth Jordan,” “Cameron Jordan,” and “Elizabeth Jordan” (hereinafter referred to collectively by the abbreviation “CEJ”)

· He has represented to others that CEJ is a living person.

· CEJ is not a living person, but a false identity created and used by Alvey.

· He has been, active on a number of social networking sites, including Facebook, Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) and LinkedIn, using his false identity CEJ.

· He maintained a web log or “blog” entitled “A Girl Who Knows Her Own Mind,” hosted by WordPress.com at http://agirlwhoknowsherownmind.wordpress.com/.

· On December 23, 2011, he sent plaintiff an email signed “Elizabeth” via “CAMERON JORDAN [cameronjordanuscstpb@mail.ru]” from a personal computer at Alvey’s parents’ home located at 1055 Ferguson Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon.

· On January 1, 2012 he published on “A Girl Who Knows Her Own Mind” blog an article entitled “Is There Anything Genuine About John Kuzmanich Other Than His Anger, Dishonesty and Paranoia?”

· He published the article referenced above from a personal computer at defendant’s parents’ home located at 1055 Ferguson Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon.

· On January 20, 2012 he published on his blog an article concerning plaintiff, entitled: 
“Slanderous, Insecure, Racist and Master of Self Promotion …your name is Bruce R. McCain.”

· He published the article referenced above from a personal computer at the Eugene Whitaker Hostel, 970 W. 3rd Avenue, Eugene, OR.

We learned that in 1992 the National Association of Securities Dealers fined Alvey $10,000 and revoked his securities license after NASD found that Alvey had “effected unauthorized transactions in the accounts of public customers.”

We learned about Alvey’s numerous court cases, including bankruptcies, FED evictions, small claims matters, and two particularly nasty divorces, the latter of which we saw firsthand how Roger Alvey uses the court system as a pro se defendant to publish his manifestos attacking his former wife and her Russian friends and family.

We learned that Alvey’s automotive company, Automotive Creative Partners LLC, does not exist after the company was dissolved on July 30, 2004. Yet Alvey continues to claim he owns and runs it on his resume’ and web postings.

We learned how Alvey told his Willamette University fraternity brother how CEJ’s mother died of breast cancer and Alvey’s own brief relationship with CEJ’s purportedly dead mother. We learned how CEJ was taken in by her wealthy grandparents, who live in Medina, Washington and who sold their Oregon company to Weyerhaeuser Corporation for billions. And of course, we now know that CEJ’s missing “last half of her last name” is Swindells, as shown by her profile on VK.com, complete with the same biography and Jenny Star teen porn photos as CEJ’s other internet profiles.

We’ve seen Roger Alvey’s work with Photoshop, and the crude 

addition of white diapers to CEJ’s photos on the adult fetish site, DiaperMates.com, where CEJ was plying her trade under the name “CJwetsthebed” of Portland, Oregon. And of course, we learned of Roger Darnell Alvey’s indictment and arrest in April 2004 on ten counts of felony possession of child pornography. 

For those who have encountered Roger Alvey in person or online, the first thing one notices in his booking mug shot is the absence of the smug cockiness and self-assurance of a man who has manipulated and deceived others his entire adult life. Instead, we see the blank, “thousand-yard stare” of a man who would later sign the online petition to “Reform Sex Offender Laws” begun by one of the founding members of the North American Man Boy Love Associationor NAMBLA.

Many adjectives leap to mind when describing Roger Alvey. Pervert. Loner. Narcissist. Deceiver. But when his core character is reduced to its most basic element, Alvey’s life story, as revealed in his voluminous public record, shows he is nothing but an inveterate serial liar. Lying is what he does best, and he is very, very good at it. But some will ask, so what? After all, why can’t a middle-aged man pretend he’s a young girl and invent his own romantic partner? In other words, what harm has Roger Alvey done to anyone over the past three years of living his life through Cameron Elizabeth Swindells Jordan?

First of all, CEJ was far more than a Facebook catfishing scheme. As we have seen, Roger Alvey had created a sophisticated internet persona, complete with an extensive family biography, educational pedigree, and attractive physical image. As we learned from “Creating the Persona” of Robin Sage:

“The success of the Robin Sage Experiment relied heavily on the calculated creation of Robin’s gender, occupation, education, credentials, and friends (connections). Determining the false identity’s characteristics directly led to the wide variety of reasons people chose to connect.”

Likewise, Roger Alvey used the same basic framework to give his fantasy girlfriend instant appeal to men and women alike.

Gender: From the Robin Sage Experiment:

“Choosing a young, attractive, and edgy female was a deliberate decision on the part of the creator […] Some of Robin’s male connections took a more assertive approach by offering her tickets to security conferences, complimenting her pictures, and presenting available job opportunities. Whether these same reactions would have been elicited towards another male is questionable. It can be put forth that Robin’s appearance and gender played a key role in many people’s comfort level. Furthermore, flirtatious gestures’ regarding her picture reveals that her attractiveness led to the success of her propagation. One connection commented, ‘Greeeat pics,’ while another charmed her with, ‘You have to forgive me but I never forget a face (esp. one as pretty as yours).’ These overt compliments develop the initial sense of trust that Robin established with her newly formed ‘friends.’” 

We saw Alvey use the same technique with CEJ, and with the same effect. Even though CEJ’s photo image would change over time, that did not keep many grown men from gushing over CEJ’s “flirtatious gestures” in the online comments to her posts and blogs.

Occupation: From the Robin Sage Experiment:

“Robin Sage’s present job was listed as ‘Cyber Threat Analyst’ at Naval Network Warfare Command. This position suggested that she not only had seasoned expertise, but she also had passed the trusted background checks of the government […] One professional introduces himself on LinkedIn with, ‘I am a Senior Business Development/Marketing/Sales Executive Consultant with 20 years+ in the Federal Government Homeland Security/Civilian/DoD Security Marketplace.’ While his introduction may suggest he is well acquainted with the security world, his fall for Robin Sage proved otherwise. Though he claims to have ‘expertise in the Cyber‐Security [field],’ he not only trusted Robin enough to connect with her, but he also privately messaged her with the hopes of a phone conversation to discuss her cyber intelligence background. Open requests such as these have the serious potential of opening a means of communication for private and/or information to be exchanged.”

Roger Alvey gave CEJ a similarly impressive occupation: an independent contractor with her own business, Elizabeth Jordan Advisors, where she worked for exclusive clients as a quantitative analyst or “quant” specializing in “Currency Derivatives Hedge Models.” Alvey had established CEJ on LinkedIn, Gerson Lehman Group, Quora, among others. In fact, Alvey’s success in establishing CEJ’s fake business credentials led him to admit in Multnomah County Circuit Court that he feared prosecution for felony identity theft and potential IRS violations.

Education & Credentials: From the Robin Sage Experiment:

“Robin’s first class education combined with her certifications proved her worthy of any security professional’s web of connections […]Fellow alumni from her high school network, St. Paul’s School, and her college network, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), chose to link to her on the basis of common educational ties. With no actual verification of her attendance, people entered into another level of trust based on no facts whatsoever.”

Cameron Elizabeth Swindells Jordan had a remarkable education. High school and some college in Switzerland and Russia, before landing in Palo Alto for a B.A. in Economics and MBA from Stanford University. As we learned earlier, CEJ’s presumptive mother, Elizabeth “Libby” Swindells (now Hulsey), actually did attend and graduate from Stanford. We also learned that whenever CEJ was challenged by her skeptics about lack of proof regarding her educational credentials, Alvey would always deflect and distract by claiming she didn’t use all of her name while at school, etc. But like with Robin Sage, “people entered into another level of trust with CEJ based on no facts whatsoever.”

Friends, Connections and Followers: From the Robin Sage Experiment:

“Robin Sage’s friends served as her largest basis of garnering trust from her targeted professionals. After acquiring just a few respected friends, Robin had what she needed

to propagate the security field. […] By successfully fooling some of the most respected specialists in the security sector, Robin’s credibility rapidly soared.”

We know from CEJ’s Facebook friends, that she was not interested in cyber security, but politics. CEJ’s friends and connections included a veritable Who’s Who of Republican Party officials, primarily in Oregon. Alvey himself maintains an active GOP registration, recently updated to his latest location in Eugene. CEJ also attempted to make some forays into Washington State conservative circles, but was quickly rebuffed once the Lolita from Medina had been outed as a used car salesman with a fondness for teen girls and Photoshop.

But CEJ initially made significant inroads into gaining the confidence and support of many Oregon Republicans, including a group of GOP women mostly in Washington County. One of them was a brave conservative woman named Jodi McPhee Giddings, who survived breast cancer, the very disease that had claimed the life of CEJ’s mother.

As Jodi explains in her own words, “I don't think of myself as a victim of Roger Alvey's. But someone who was vulnerable whom Roger Alvey took advantage. He began sending messages to me during my breast cancer treatment. I did not solicit them. I didn't think much of it, other than a fellow woman who'd had undergone similar circumstances and survived it. At the time, I'd been very vocal about my cancer. And everyone was so supportive. Including CEJ.”

Jodi provided The Alvey Files with messages exchanged between herself and CEJ while Jodi was undergoing treatment for her own cancer. At the time, she had no idea that the fingers typing at the other end were not those of a young woman who had undergone her own cancer treatment, but rather the fat fingers of a degenerate 50-year old man preying upon her vulnerabilities:

Cameron Elizabeth Jordan:

“I have been praying for you ...the only thing you have to fear ...is fear itself. I came through it last month with flying colors and so will you ... I will tell you what my physician told me ... "you get the easy part ...you get to sleep thru it. lol ...you will do great ...hurry back and have someone post up that everything went weell for us ok?? Cameron”

7:44pm

Jodi McPhee Giddings:

“Thank you so much, Cameron, I appreciate it! Same kind of surgery? Or something else? I'm very nervous but want to get on with it. All the support helps more than I can say!

7:48pm

Cameron Elizabeth Jordan

“I had radical hysterectomy and the left me with my ovaries ...”

7:59pm

Jodi McPhee Giddings

“Oh, my goodness. Well, that's a pretty rough surgery, too. I may go ahead with that also when they put in the permanent implants. Peace of mind for the future! Hope you are well now.”

8:10pm

Cameron Elizabeth Jordan

“I am not even certain what you are having done ...just generally ...I know i was no always totally comfortable telling some people what was going on s with me ...and so I don't pry into other peoples. I try to do my part by helping to staff the front lines of the prayer brigades and prayer warriors! My friend skip's wife just the same sort of operation ... she had a benign tumor (mine wasn't) and I told her that what i was afraid of was not knowing ... not knowing what they would find, not knowling what they were really going to do as succinctly as i wanted in order to be comfortable with it. I told her to try doing what made all of the difference to me ... I watched the surgery on youtube ... many different variations of the procedure they did on me ...and once you see it whether it be cervical cancer like i had or breast cancer or .>>>>fill in the blank cancer ...once i was able to see it being done to someone else and could see the respect and care the various women rec'd in all of the videos I watched then i was able to relax and put on my bravest face ... That was December 1st and I am leaving for Austria to ski and visit friends for a couple months right after valantines day ... I have been working out likie a maniac to get back in shape like i was...I was really worried about what it would do for my sex life/drive/enjoyment/ mood and all around general emotional well being and everything is great...”

8:12pm

Cameron Elizabeth Jordan

“My mother passed away when i was 10 .... breast cancer that had been misdiagnosed ...”

Several things stand out in this remarkable, yet sickening exchange. First, we read first hand from CEJ how her own mother died of breast cancer, and how CEJ herself underwent a radical hysterectomy, yet “left her ovaries.” That is consistent with what Roger Alvey had written to his frat brother, though CEJ denies all of it in her emails sent from Alvey’s parents’ home. Lies and deceptions over and over again.

Jodi McPhee Giddings summarized her feelings about Roger Alvey without mincing words:

“I do admit I was miffed, though, when I found out CEJ was Roger Alvey. I was much more concerned with his past charges […] than his being a troll. I have a young daughter, so I chose to remove him from my friends list because of that. I do feel angry that he played on my emotions. He used that whole ‘my mother died of breast cancer’ line, which I now know is untrue. For me, no one can get any lower than that. To use cancer to wedge your way into someone's life during their darkest hours is beyond reprehensible.”

“Not to mention his ‘infertility.’ I lost a child to an ectopic pregnancy. No one can know how that feels unless they'd been through it. That was a manipulation as well. Any woman would feel anger at anyone who'd use that as a tool to enter their life unsolicited.”

Unfortunately, Jodi was not the only female cancer victim Alvey preyed upon through the sympathetic guiles of young Cameron Elizabeth Swindells Jordan.

One of CEJ’s earliest and most loyal defenders was a gentle grandmother from Prineville, Oregon, named Leslie Vaughn Burkard. Like Jodi McPhee Giddings, Mrs. Burkard also was stricken with cancer; only in her case it was brain cancer. She acknowledged that CEJ provided some comfort as she went through her treatment. Leslie genially thought she was chatting with a 20-something year old young woman, who had lost her own mother to breast cancer, only to be stricken with the disease herself in the prime of her youth. Then Leslie learned the truth about Roger Alvey, which she shared in an email:

“About two years ago I accepted a FB friendship from Cameron as 'she' said we have a mutual friend. We did and when I asked about Roger she said he was quite a ladies man.

I was recovering from brain tumor surgery and having a FB friend I could chat with day and night was awesome, especially girl talk. Last summer I finally accepted the horrid truths about Cameron aka Roger. Then I read of his convictions and wrote the final email to that address...expressing my disgust. I was ashamed, hurt, sad sickened and very angry to have been lured into this 'friendship' by this evil man.”

While Leslie was once one of CEJ’s staunchest defenders, she is now one of Roger Alvey’s fiercest critics, warning others about how she was deceived by his lies which capitalized on her trusting nature and moments of vulnerability. But Jodi and Leslie were not the only persons sharing private thoughts with CEJ.

James Vaughn

Besides Alvey himself and James Needham, discussed earlier, no other man has defended CEJ as vigorously as James Vaughn – at least until he learned the truth about Alvey. In the recently concluded litigation discussed earlier, Alvey had filed with the court a document stating that three men – Needham, Les Moore, and Vaughn – had filed declarations in support of Alvey. Though Needham and Moore did submit their declarations, Vaughn did not, nor did he ever agree to do so. Understandably, the fact that Alvey would use Vaughn in this manner upset him to the point where he finally disclosed to me in a private message something many Oregon conservatives had long believed and feared:

James Vaughn

August 28, 2012  4:37 pm

“I am grateful I was never drawn into the honey trap. My interest was always about the ideas. But there are many who were drawn in. I was told details about many of them. You would know all their names. I am surprised R has not resorted to those disclosures. That is a plus and may well be the only good thing we can say about Roger. I hope he never does. I will never disclose the names. One of them recently ridiculed me literally behind my back at a meeting within earshot. I just thought to myself, if only he knew what I knew about him he would hang his head in shame. It is just not my style to treat people like that.”

Fortunately, Roger Alvey will never be able to use the information he gathered through CEJ’s private chats with unsuspecting victims. But that does not mean Alvey has gone away. Far from it. If his past is a predictor of his future, he will lash out at those who exposed him for what he is. We saw what he did to his ex-wife Tatiana; we know what he is capable of based on his use of CEJ’s blogs to smear those who dared to confront and challenge him.

The lessons learned from Robin Sage and now Cameron Elizabeth Swindells Jordan, is that the cute, sassy, flirtatious girl you just met online may not be who you think she is.