Relentless harassment from criminal fraudster leads to dramatic unfortunate results
By Kate Northrop
A Jamaican scammer was sentenced to prison after he severely harassed an elderly Washington woman in a lottery scheme that cost her $600,000 and her home.
An elderly woman lost her house and sent over a half a million dollars to a criminal fraudster after he made her believe that she won a $22 million prize in the lottery.
Roshard Andrew Carty, 34, was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month for wire fraud that cost his victim more than $600,000 and her house. According to the United States Attorney's Office, he was arrested in Jamaica in August 2025 and arrived for his arraignment in the Western District of Washington in October 2025.
He was described as a relentless, persistent criminal in court, who, "even as [the victim] hesitated and tried to resist," got creative in how he continued to contact her, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright said after he pleaded guilty in February.
"This defendant was relentless in defrauding a vulnerable victim," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said in a press release. "At every turn when she tried to end the contact, he persisted playing on her isolation and her fear of losing the money she had already lost. He stole the money she was counting on to survive in retirement, so that he could buy luxuries and live large in Jamacia. It is despicable conduct deserving of this punishment."
Court records state that Carty first reached out to the 73-year-old victim in 2020 while posing as an employee of Publisher's Clearinghouse. He fraudulently informed her that she had won $22 million and a car in the lottery, but she would have to pay taxes and fees upfront to receive her winnings.
If you are contacted by someone claiming that you have won a big lottery prize, know that it is impossible to win a lottery or contest that you never entered, nor will a true winner ever be asked to pay a sum of money prior to receiving a prize.
Still, Carty convinced the southwest Washington woman that the FBI was recording the call and told her not to tell anyone else about the win.
For nearly four years between August 2020 and February 2024, he managed to convince her to send more than $600,000 to money couriers throughout the United States, who then delivered the money to Carty in Jamaica.
At first, his requests for cash came across as unassuming. He instructed the victim to withdraw small amounts from her bank accounts and send them via FedEx to various locations around the U.S. However, Carty would follow up with the woman to inform her that the money was either lost or stolen, and he began to demand larger sums of money.
It eventually led him to order her to borrow against her home so that she could continue to send him payments.
The victim ended up selling her home to cover "costs and fees" Carty said she still needed to pay to claim her prize. In total, she sent him more than $600,000.
The U.S. Department of Justice said that Carty contacted her "thousands of times" over the course of the scheme. He'd reach out to her through different phone numbers and texting programs, but when she tried to cut off communications, his attempts became even more persistent.
He'd send tow trucks and pizza deliveries to her home to re-establish contact. He had even asked her landlord to perform a welfare check on her.
"Mr. Carty relentlessly and cruelly manipulated and intimidated his elderly victim to deprive her of her life savings for his own profit," FBI Seattle field office Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said. "His lies in pursuit of her money even went so far as to abuse the trust and credibility of law enforcement by claiming the FBI was recording a call. Ultimately, the victim lost her home without receiving any of the fictitious prize money Mr. Carty had promised. We hope this case sends a message to would-be lottery scammers that the FBI will work just as relentlessly with our partners to hold fraudsters accountable, even when they reside beyond the borders of the United States."
The southwest Washington woman was not the only victim of Carty's crimes. Law enforcement discovered that he had been actively defrauding others, and they fear that he may return to running the same scams once he's out of prison.
"Carty's conduct here shows he is relentless, callous, and has an aptitude for deception — he is unlikely to be deterred by the reality that his conduct left people like Victim 1 destitute," prosecutors said during his sentencing hearing. "Carty knew Victim 1, Victim 2, and likely others were insolvent because of him, and yet he persisted in his scam. And unlike with U.S.-based defendants, the U.S. Probation Office cannot effectively monitor Carty when he returns home."
It is impossible to win a lottery or contest that you never entered, nor will a winner ever be asked to pay a sum of money prior to receiving a prize.
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hope inmates take care of him poor lady
Give him the death penalty
I hate to victim blame but you got to be a special kind of dumb to sell your house and send someone $600,000 thinking that you needed to do that to claim a lottery prize.
I'm sorry but that needed to be said that is just crazy.
Don't get me wrong the guy is evil I feel bad for the woman did she not have anyone at all she could talk to about it when it started that could have sent her on the right path and ignoring him..
Keep in mind dementia doesn't come over night...it starts with lack of judgment. This is how a lot of elderly lose their life savings to scams ,
* Dementia or not. One had to have the ( wits) to assume that they were coming into some serious money. I blame it on...
Poor woman. There are also people far younger that fall victim to the same scams. If someone asks you for money online or via a call, it is a scam. The rare scam call that I pick up ends up with the scammer hanging up after I ask him psych related questions. What motivates you to do these scams? How was your childhood? Were you bullied in school?
I really think low self esteem , being unhappy, and living in a fantasy world has something to do with it. Years ago there was a Dateline episode about romance scams and this poor woman said well he chose me out of all the people in the world!!! She just did not get it. It did not make her "special,"
Poor thing. That's why it's not safe to live by yourself as an elderly especially these fraudulent days. 3 yrs for that mule's end, is waaay too EZ. Karma is gonna get him or unfortunately, one or more of his innocent family but I HOPE it's HIM!! Mule's end.
lol i'll have to try that. last time i got one of these calls (and picked up because the number was spoofed and i didn't realize it) i asked why don't they target other scammers instead of average folks since scammers have way more money.
Always bring up a parent and they get mad and disappear quickly. And no bank employee gives out a badge #.
"What a gwaan Rastaman? 🇯🇲"
Jah Love ❤️ to the victim.
So sorry for the loss 💵.
Next time be on da look out for dem vultures 🦅.
Scammer Payback needs to cover this guy.
"Those who live by the sword will perish by the sword"
"Karma is the ultimate vengeance"
Roshard Andrew Carty is now on Karma's vengeance list and the same Sward of fraud he pointed at his victim is now reversed and pointed at him
🤣🤣🤣 smart
Once in a blue moon a smart/savvy bank employee will catch this.
Nineteen states have outlawed bitcoin machines that look like an ATM. A couple of months ago watched an older woman, on the phone depositing !=100 bills in. Asked her if she being scammed---no she said. Big time regional manager happened to be there and he spoke to her. Two days later a well off looking guy kept putting in 100 bills. We stopped looking when screen said $14.5K!
Only 3 years
* You fortunate you got a (0). I got beheaded in my response. 😆
* Right. It's because whoever you are, you incapable of thinking clearly. How so?
* Because despite the claim of dementia: This woman had no problem thinking she was going to be a multimillionaire. For 4 years she got strung along & never once got any money back, not even a coupon. She also did not confide in anyone that she was going after the big bucks.
*She was smart enough to know how to put on her shoes & brush her teeth, but not competent enough to know that she was losing money hand over fist. She was not giving money away to charity, and expecting nothing in return, she was playing herself.
* They both guilty of greed. The only thing is, he got caught!
I hope you never have the experience of having to take care of someone with dementia or Alzheimer's. It is a disease that starts slowly and gets progressively worse. In the beginning the person may realize their memory is going or they are getting forgetful. As it gets worse the person often doesn't even think there is anything wrong with themself. They won't recognize their own family or know who you are. They may not want to get dressed in the morning, ask you the same question 20 times in a row, or talk to people that aren't there. And that's a good day. On a bad day they may not want to eat or bathe. They may put things in the refrigerator or the oven because they think it's their closet. You can cook them a meal, set it on the table, and they may just throw it right on the floor. They might poop in their bedroom because they don't know where the bathroom is. Their mood can go from calm and relaxed to wanting to fight you at the drop of a hat and they won't even realize it or remember it. It is a horrible disease and is one of the most difficult things for anyone, patient or family to ever go through. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
* Suddenly you an authority of Dementia? You have a hard time thinking clearly, given my experience with you elsewhere.
* l repeat: for 4 years she gave her hard earned money with the ( hope) of a massive windfall. She was told she was going to be a multimillionaire & rolled the dice. woke up when she had reached rock bottom.
* A neighbor 4 homes down the road from me ran into a Situation almost identical to this one. His mother wanted her independence & went about doing weird stuff as well. She too got scammed, but did she reach out to her family until it was too late. Her children had to discover the headaches when she couldn't afford her prescription drugs.
* This article says nothing about her family so she rolled the dice. Do l feel sorry for her situation, sure, glad the scammer was apprehended - absolutely, but giving out advice as though you have a PHD on various topics is asinine.
* It's an opinion & l am not going to apologize, you have yours, so stick with it. Some people smoke & are told they are at risk of getting cancer. Do you jump to conclusions with their situation & pass judgment? Now run along and play.Taking advice from someone who thinks the Bhagwan Rajneesh was persecuted shows what you made of.
Knowing about a neighbor that had it is nowhere near the same thing as dealing with it personally 24/7 in your own house. Trust me. You do not want to go through that experience. And unless you have done that yourself then you don't know what the hell you are talking about. Anyone that has will tell you the same thing.
you're an idiot.
* Says you guys who are in a cult, but refuse to acknowledge it.
* That's exactly how I would expect a cultist to react.🤨
***When the pontificating noisemaker is shown to be wrong and out of touch with normal people (again***), he always starts responding to his own posts. ***
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Exactly, you just never know, My Grandma, Mild mannered, Had Parkinsons and Had a stroke she didn't move around well, one night she said her Rosary, and smoked her 1 cigarette of the day with her shot of Jim Beam watched her Johnny Carson. Don't know what got into her, but she picked up a brass cowbell and chucked it at my Grandpa, hit him between the eyes. 3 stitches and he never drank any of her Jim Beam again. See you never know with old people.
* Normal people? Were your brothers & sister considered ( normal people) when they attacked the Capitol on Jan 6th?
* The truth must really hurt - l love it.