The person who anonymously cyberbullied a teenage girl for two years was her own mother.

The act of creating fictitious profiles and identities on social media to deceive others is known as ' cat phishing ,' a tactic used by sex offenders to target children and young people. In a cat phishing scam that targeted two teenagers in Beale , Michigan , USA, a 42-year-old woman was indicted for stalking and sending mass harassing emails over a two-year period. It turns out she was the mother of one of the victims.

Beal woman arrested in sophisticated catfishing scheme involving daughter – The Morning Sun
https://www.themorningsun.com/2022/12/13/beal-woman-arrested-in-sophisticated-catfishing-scheme-involving-daughter/

Mt. Pleasant woman charged in catfishing scheme involving her daughter – The Morning Sun
https://www.themorningsun.com/2022/12/14/mt-pleasant-woman-charged-in-catfishing-scheme-involving-her-daughter/

Kendra Licari (pictured below) sent harassing emails and social media messages to her daughter and her boyfriend while concealing her identity, and the documents she compiled over a two-year period are said to be 349 pages long.

Prosecutor Dave Barberi said Licari lied about his age by using slang and abbreviations used by young people, and used a VPN to disguise his location, making it appear he was sending emails from far away places like Florida.

The incident was discovered in December 2021, when Licari's daughter and her boyfriend contacted the school, which launched an investigation. However, local officials' investigation revealed that most of the incidents occurred off school grounds and were not related to school devices. As a result, in January 2022, the city of Beale decided to seek assistance from law enforcement.

During their investigation, local law enforcement suspected Licari's involvement, but due to limitations in their computer crime investigation capabilities, they were unable to obtain evidence, so they turned to the FBI for assistance in April 2022. The FBI eventually identified the IP address used to send the messages and determined that it belonged to Licari.

Law enforcement subsequently questioned Licari for details, and he admitted to all charges, leading to his arrest. He was subsequently released on $5,000 bail. Licari was subsequently indicted on two counts of 'stalking a minor,' two counts of 'computer-assisted crime,' and one count of 'obstruction of justice.' Regarding the obstruction of justice charge, prosecutors allege that Licari 'attempted to disrupt the investigation by posing as another minor during the investigation.'

The computer-based crime count carries a 10-year prison sentence, while the stalking of a minor and obstruction of justice counts each carry a five-year prison sentence, meaning Licari faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Licari was previously the coach of the girls' basketball team at his daughter's school, but was fired after the incident.