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Nigerian lottery scammer sentenced to 14 yearsNews Story
A Nigerian man who swindled three Californians out of more than $400,000 by demanding tax on bogus foreign lottery winnings was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in federal prison. The people who typically fall for such scams are older, sometimes people who have dementia and are lonely and need someone to talk to, an assistant U.S. attorney said. One of Emmanuel I. Onwuzulike's victims, a San Fernando Valley woman, lost her home after she paid more than $368,000 for a phony tax on what she though
Dec 2, 2010, 6:33 am - Lottery News

Photos, evidence released in case of murdered Florida lottery winnerNews Story
Gruesome photos of the mummified body of a slain Florida lottery winner are among mountains of evidence released this week by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's office. More than 20 discs containing photos, videos and other documents were released in the case against Dorice DeeDee Moore, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Abraham Shakespeare of Lakeland. Moore was indicted by a grand jury in March after Shakespeare's body was discovered last January. The remains
Nov 25, 2010, 8:24 am - Lottery News

Former W.V. Lottery inspector admits lying to fedsNews Story
A former inspector with the West Virginia Lottery Commission admitted Wednesday that she lied to investigators about taking money from a former state delegate who ran an illegal gambling ring in West Virginia and Kentucky. Carolyn A. Kitchen, 55, of Chapmanville, admitted that she lied to investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service when they questioned her about her involvement with Joe C. Ferrell in February 2008. Among other things, they asked
Nov 17, 2010, 10:45 pm - Lottery News

Con artists target N.J. seniors in lottery scamNews Story
The first call came in December. How are you? How's your day? We have a wonderful thing to tell you, a 65-year-old Ocean County woman said of her first telephone conversation with the Jamaican-sounding strangers. They said I had won an award, the woman said. (The prizes) ranged from $1.5 million to over $5.5 million. The callers told her she had to send them money to purchase stamps so that her prize could be delivered. She sent the money, but then she got more phone calls with vario
Nov 7, 2010, 9:55 am - Lottery News

Florida woman accused of running personal lotteryNews Story
A mother who solicited her neighbors for cash with the promise of a $500 prize was arrested Saturday and charged with leading an illegal lottery, authorities said. Tina Marie Bell, 47, had her daughter fill mailboxes with letters asking residents to send $5 entrance fees for a chance at the winnings, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report. All money was to be sent to Bell's home on Rainbow Lane. A neighbor asked the Sheriff's Office if the lottery was a scam, and a deputy resp
Nov 2, 2010, 8:31 am - Lottery News

Once a victim, retiree allegedly joined scammers to bilk othersNews Story
Authorities allege that Thomas Murphy, 68, became a mule for an overseas ring that took in $800,000 They preyed on the elderly often by trolling obituaries for new widows or widowers and enticed them into believing they'd won a lottery but needed to pay the tax on their winnings to claim them. Thomas Murphy, 68, a retired principal, teacher and coach from Henderson, Minn., started as a victim. Then, police say, he joined the scam in a failed attempt to try to recoup his losses. Authorit
Oct 20, 2010, 8:39 am - Lottery News

Couple, son charged in Detroit illegal lotteryNews Story
They went searching for drugs, but discovered a major gambling operation instead. A federal judge in Detroit today unsealed a criminal complaint detailing a large-scale, multi-state gambling operation allegedly run by an elderly Detroit couple that for decades has operated out of coney island restaurants, storefronts and homes in the Detroit area. According to the complaint, federal agents stumbled upon the gambling operation in 2007 when they went to execute a search warrant at a Farmingt
Oct 13, 2010, 9:22 pm - Lottery News

N.Y. man pleads guilty to stealing to feed his lottery habitNews Story
His unlucky numbers turned out to be 5 and 15. A compulsive lottery player pleaded guilty today to stealing $2.3 million from condo and co-op buildings he managed in Manhattan to feed his love of randomly drawn ping-pong balls. Richard Bassik, 67, will be sentenced to 5 to 15 years behind bars after accepting a deal that could keep him locked up until death. With time already served, Bassik's best hope for freedom won't come until early 2015. I hope when he gets out, it'll be on his ow
Sep 17, 2010, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Thieves try to cash stolen S.C. lottery tickets in N.C.News Story
A Gastonia, N.C., woman accused of stealing scratch-off lottery tickets from a Clover Mini-Mart tried to retrieve prize money in North Carolina and successfully cashed 27 winners in South Carolina before being caught. Kristi Lynn Welch, 20, was booked in York County on Monday night in connection with a break-in at Borderline Mini-mart on U.S. 321 in Clover, authorities say. Welch is one of three people facing charges in the May burglary. They are accused of cashing tickets stolen from that
Jul 21, 2010, 11:24 pm - Lottery News

Wrong guy: Cops beat up lottery playerNews Story
A San Jose man has hired a lawyer after police wrestled him to the ground, handcuffed him and kicked him in the face in a case of mistaken identity. The victim, 23-year-old Henry Stevens Amador, had walked into his neighborhood convenience store Friday to buy a lottery ticket. As Amador was walking to his car, he says he was rushed by a police officer with a gun pointed at him and another who knocked him to the ground. Several officers surrounded him on the ground, where he was bloodied
Jul 14, 2010, 8:58 pm - Lottery News