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Lottery scam with a twist hitting Central TexasNews Story
How would you react if you heard, Congratulations, your prize has been reserved! over the phone? The message is part of a sophisticated phone scam plaguing Central Texas, and is responsible for stealing millions of dollars from Americans each year. Joann Keilberg and her husband Jim almost fell for it. The Smithville, Texas, couple received a call in July from someone claiming to work for Publishers Clearing House. I was happy, Keilburg said. The caller said the won couple won $3.5
Sep 5, 2015, 8:10 am - Lottery News

NY man claims friend broke deal to split lottery prize, files lawsuitNews Story
A Queens, New York, man claims one of his best friends is bilking him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, after improbably striking the jackpot on a lottery ticket the two had agreed to split and refusing to share the million dollar bounty. Terry Hollenquest, 52, a barber and business consultant, alleges that he and his neighbor and longtime buddy Leonard (John) Owens hatched the get-rich plan a year ago. The two men would play the lotto every day, under the agreement that if either s
Aug 4, 2015, 8:27 am - Lottery News

New York man accused of running lottery con gameNews Story
A Rochester, New York, man has been accused of running a lottery con game in which three senior citizens were persuaded to send him a total of $138,000 in order to claim their mega-bucks winnings. The winnings were fictitious but the crime was real, federal prosecutors say: Roydel Nicholson was charged Friday with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the scheme, which he allegedly ran from his apartment on Van Auker Street. A criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. Di
Apr 25, 2015, 8:18 am - Lottery News

Jamaican DJ to plead guilty in lottery scamNews Story
A prominent Jamaican disc jockey charged for his role in a lottery scam targeting older people in the Dakotas and elsewhere is scheduled to plead guilty. Deon-ville O'Hara, also known as ZJ Wah Wa, is among 26 people who were indicted by a federal grand jury in North Dakota, where the investigation is centered. He is charged with three counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. A plea agreement filed last month calls for O'Hara to plead guilty to conspiracy, which carr
Oct 8, 2014, 7:37 am - Lottery News

Postal agents intercept, destroy fake lottery checksNews Story
Includes video report Instead of sending foreign lottery letters and checks directly to you from Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica or Mexico, more and more, scammers are sending big batches of letters in a box, to middlemen in the United States. Each letter is stuffed in a pre-addressed envelope and many envelopes are stamped with American postage. The return addresses are typically just a private mailing center in an American city. The person who picks up the box may hand it off to yet another
Mar 4, 2014, 1:14 pm - Lottery News

Jamaican lottery scam investigation leads to MississippiNews Story
A Jamaican national was arrested in Gulfport, Mississippi, Monday for his role in an alleged Jamaican lottery scam. Damion Aljunior Hill, 33, is in America on a work visa, but now faces two counts of wire fraud. Investigators with the Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division said the two alleged victims were told that they had won the lottery, but were required to pay taxes before the award could be made. Monies were then wired to Jamaica. The victims said they received numer
Jun 17, 2013, 9:01 pm - Lottery News

Jamaica making new efforts to curb lottery scamsNews Story
Jamaican officials said Thursday that they are hopeful new legislation will finally result in a stream of convictions and lengthy sentences for fraudsters behind a multimillion-dollar lottery scam that has swindled mostly elderly Americans out of their retirement savings for years. National Security Minister Peter Bunting told reporters that the law reform act will result in a vastly accelerated number of successful prosecutions of swindlers who have made the island a center for cross-border
Mar 15, 2013, 10:48 am - Lottery News

Baltimore man, 81, loses his home after falling for lottery scamNews Story
The first caller told Norman Breidenbaugh he had won $2.5 million in a foreign sweepstakes, but there was a catch: Breidenbaugh needed to send $2,000 in fees before collecting his earnings. Other calls followed, promising Breidenbaugh millions more even a Mercedes Benz as long as he would wire some money to pay taxes on the prizes. He obliged, sending more than $400,000 over about six years, hoping the promised winnings would cover his wife's medical expenses. The prizes never came. The pe
Mar 7, 2013, 9:01 am - Lottery News

Elderly woman tells lottery scam artist to get a job and quit bothering herNews Story
Scam artists have been targeting a small community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and police are warning residents to be aware. The phone scams are concerning, especially for older people, and also nearly impossible to prosecute. Most of the time the person on the other line, is not in this country. In the past week, two people have gone to the Manor Township Police saying that someone tried to scam them over the phone. One person was told their son was in an accident and they needed to send
Jan 22, 2013, 10:00 am - Lottery News

8 lottery scam suspects arrested in JamaicaNews Story
Eight people accused of defrauding U.S. citizens through a multinational lottery scam were arrested during raids of several homes on a single street in Jamaica's capital, police announced Thursday. A police statement said officers detained six males and two females during the Wednesday night operation in Havendale, a middle-class community at the foot of the mountains that tower above Kingston. They also seized nearly $150,000 in cash, jewelry, eight flat-screen television sets and five cars,
May 21, 2012, 10:42 am - Lottery News