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Lottery scammers sentenced to prison after netting $700,000 from victimsNews Story
Over half a million dollars later, fraudsters are finally caught By Kate Northrop Two lottery scammers who defrauded elderly victims of $700,000 will be spending time behind bars in federal prison, Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus announced. Jason Wedderburn, 41, and Kayan Kitson, 38, were each sentenced to two to three years in federal prison along with 3 years of federal supervised release after netting over half a million dollars from senior citizens in several sta
Nov 22, 2021, 1:32 pm - Lottery News

Lottery scammer stole nearly $1 million from one elderly womanNews Story
Crook is sentenced to nine years in federal prison By Kate Northrop On Wednesday, a scammer who stole almost $1 million from one single victim in a lottery scheme was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison. Leonard Luton, a Jamaican national living in Brooklyn, New York, scammed an elderly woman from Estes Park, Colorado of more than $970,000, according to prosecutors. Court documents show that Luton and another Jamaican national worked together in a scam to convince the woman tha
Aug 10, 2021, 5:37 pm - Lottery News

Lottery scammers steal $1.2 million from one victimNews Story
Crook receives six years in prison for crimes of conspiracy and fraud By Kate Northrop After stealing over $1 million from one single victim, the leader of a ring of Jamaican scam artists was sentenced Friday to almost six years in prison. Like any typical scammer, Stieve Fernandez, 35, spent his time deceiving vulnerable individuals and robbing elderly targets of their life savings as part of a high-functioning underground network of lottery fraudsters. Fernandez was said to h
Jul 12, 2021, 12:45 pm - Lottery News

'Darth Vader' collects $95 million Jamaican Lotto jackpotNews Story
The force was with this lucky winner By Kate Northrop Some people might use masks, others might wear dark sunglasses. While these sound like easy and viable go-to options for concealing one's identity, there's one winner who knows how to step up their anonymity game. In a bid to hide his identity while collecting a $95 million (US$651,226) lottery jackpot for the July 5 Lotto draw, a Jamaican man suited up as Star Wars' Darth Vader, one of Sci-Fi's most iconic villains. Only known as
Jul 22, 2020, 11:09 am - Lottery News

90-year-old ND woman lost $400K to Jamaican lottery scam — but she was paid back just $287News Story
Life savings gone for good A 90-year-old North Dakota woman who was robbed of her life savings by a Jamaican lottery scam says she has been paid back only $287 of the $400,000 she's owed. Edna Schmeets of Harvey, a small central North Dakota town about 77 miles northeast of Bismarck, was the victim whose case launched what became the first large-scale Jamaican lottery scam case prosecuted in the U.S. All 31 defendants have been prosecuted, including 14 Jamaican nationals who were extradite
Nov 11, 2019, 12:29 pm - Lottery News

Key player in Jamaican lottery scam sentenced to 4 yearsNews Story
A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday sentenced a Rhode Island woman to four years in prison for funneling lottery scam money between the U.S. and Jamaica, prompting a prosecutor to question the ruling. Melinda Bulgin, 29, of Providence, received a sentence that was 10 years less than prosecutors had sought. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said Bulgin's role in the scam was not on the level of others who received lesser sentences than the 14 years requested by prosecutors, The Bi
Jul 12, 2019, 8:46 pm - Lottery News

Jamaican lottery winner wears 'Scream' mask to hide identityNews Story
A lottery winner in Jamaica who seemingly wanted to remain anonymous chose quite the mask to conceal his face. Dressed in a mask of Ghostface a character in the Scream movies with a signature white face and long, wide-opened mouth the winner, only identified as A. Campbell, collected his winnings of roughly $158,400,000 in Jamaican dollars, which equates to over $1,171,400 in U.S. currency. Campbell, according to the Jamaica Star, became sick when he found out he won the Super Lotto in Nov
Feb 12, 2019, 1:06 pm - Lottery News

US woman convicted in Jamaican lottery scam to remain jailedNews Story
A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday ordered a Rhode Island woman convicted of funnelling lottery scam money between the US and Jamaica to remain jailed pending a February sentencing hearing, where she could face a stiffer sentence than the alleged mastermind. Her hands were all over the conspiracy that authorities said bilked at least 90 mostly elderly Americans out of more than $5.7 million, US District Judge Daniel Hovland said at the end of a contentious detention hearing in which M
Dec 5, 2018, 2:28 pm - Lottery News

'It was a horrible, horrible crime that I committed,' Jamaican lottery scammer repentsNews Story
Charles Bennett had already lost his home and moved into a trailer to pay the scammers who had taken over his life. Soon he was hiding there in the dark, told in a late-night phone call that he was about to be arrested over unpaid bills. The 85-year-old Massachusetts man would be stopped from selling the trailer by a social services investigation, but he lost all control over his finances. Even then, he starved himself so he could hand over his food allowance to the scammers. He remained conv
Oct 5, 2018, 9:25 am - Lottery News

Last defendant in large Jamaican lottery scam convictedNews Story
A federal jury in North Dakota on Friday convicted a Rhode Island woman of helping scam elderly Americans out of millions of dollars, capping a large-scale Jamaican lottery scam case that authorities have been investigating and prosecuting for six years. Jurors found Melinda Bulgin, 28, guilty of 15 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering, after 3 1/2 hours of deliberations over two days. Defense attorney Kevin Chapman said he likely will appeal. The Providence woman was the last
Sep 15, 2018, 8:36 pm - Lottery News