A Detroit-area man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to kidnap and rob his own uncle, who had become a social media sensation after a stranger’s gift of $100,000 following a good deed turned him into a target.
Roland Chatmon, 37, pleaded guilty to kidnapping conspiracy and federal gun charges, according to a statement this week from federal prosecutors in Detroit. Three other co-conspirators, Leica Lopez Martinez, 33, Ieasha Stroman, 38, and Dneiqua Stroman, 43, face the same charges. A fifth defendant, Kenneth Anderson, 54, had already pleaded guilty to money laundering for helping move stolen funds.
The case traces back to August 2025, when Chatmon’s uncle, Curtis Dixon, went viral after offering to help someone in need. The person he helped was Zachery Dereniowski, a TikTok influencer known as MDMotivator who has more than 28 million followers and who was pretending to be blind for a video. As a reward, Dereniowski gave Dixon more than $100,000, a new car, and other gifts, all of which drew heavy publicity online. Dixon, who had been financially struggling and was planning to pawn his wedding ring, also set up a GoFundMe in the aftermath.
A Plan Hatched by Phone From Jail
According to court filings and admissions made during plea hearings, Chatmon spoke with his brother, who was incarcerated at the time, on August 24, 2025. On a recorded jail call, the two discussed taking the money from Dixon and laughed about it, prosecutors said. The plan eventually drew in several more conspirators.
On September 1, 2025, the group put the plan into motion. One conspirator lured Dixon by asking for a ride. While Dixon drove, Chatmon directed the route by phone. Once Dixon parked, Chatmon and the others carjacked him at gunpoint, hog-tied him, and held him hostage inside his own truck.
Prosecutors said the group drove Dixon around while trying to drain his bank accounts, repeatedly pistol-whipping and beating him along the way. After making cash withdrawals, the conspirators pushed for more, and Dixon told them about a safe at his home containing cash. The group drove to his house, where Chatmon and Dneiqua Stroman broke in and stole the safe while Dixon remained tied up in the truck outside. Chatmon’s aunt was also tied up and left in a bathtub during the break-in, according to prosecutors.
The conspirators then left Dixon on the ground beside his truck and set the vehicle on fire before fleeing. They later met with Anderson, who helped move money from Dixon’s Cash App account into accounts the group controlled, prosecutors said.
Arrests and Sentencing
Within a month, ATF agents raided five homes across Detroit, Rochester Hills, and Pontiac and arrested all five suspects, prosecutors said.
With their guilty pleas entered this week, Chatmon, Lopez Martinez, and the two Stromans each face a minimum of seven years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of life. Anderson, who pleaded guilty earlier for his role in laundering the stolen funds, received probation and was ordered to pay restitution.
Dixon Speaks Out
Dixon told Detroit television station WXYZ that he has not recovered all of the money he was given and is now struggling to find housing. Learning that a relative had orchestrated the plot against him, he said, was especially painful.
“When I found out it was family, I was so hurt. I couldn’t believe it,” Dixon told WXYZ. “I expected somebody on the streets to do it to me before a family member would.”
He said he feels relieved now that the guilty pleas have been entered.
“I’d rather be broke and happy, any day. I’d rather be broke and happy than rich and have to look over my shoulder,” Dixon said.
