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Lottery winner charged in tax conspiracyNews Story
In February 2008, Kendrick D. Francis won a 10,000-to-one bet on the Pennsylvania Lottery's Big 4 game for a payday of $532,000. But, federal prosecutors in Delaware said, that apparently wasn't enough for Francis, a Wilmington resident, who then conspired with a convenience-store operator to hide his winnings and make it appear a number of other people had won instead to avoid federal taxes. This month, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Delaware filed felony conspiracy and tax evasion charge
Jan 26, 2011, 4:01 pm - Lottery News

Florida shopkeeper accused of taking tourist's lottery winningsNews Story
Naji Farah thought it was his lucky day: a $5,000 lottery prize. The only problem, police say, the lottery ticket wasn't his. The Miami Beach market owner is accused of scamming the rightful owner, telling the man the ticket was worth $600 and pocketing the rest. Police arrested Farah, 45, this week on a charge of felony grand theft. And Florida lottery officials have suspended his store's license while the criminal charges are pending. Miami Beach police say Farah took advantage of
Dec 10, 2010, 7:11 am - Lottery News

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

Canada lottery winner robbed, beatenNews Story
Should winners' information be published? The daughter of a Canadian lottery winner said she believes her mother was robbed and beaten because information was published about the winner. Diana Masciotra, the daughter of Evelyn Cassis of Kirkland, Quebec, asked Loto-Quebec, the Quebec lottery to stop publishing information about her mother after Cassis was attacked in her home following her $52,000 lottery win, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday. Two men wearing masks and
Oct 16, 2010, 8:17 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