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Jamaican lottery scams spread despite US crackdownNews Story
The 88-year-old retired Coast Guard officer hadn't been outside the U.S. in decades. Yet phone calls started pouring in from Jamaica, dangling the prospects of huge winnings from an international lottery that he had won. There was a catch, of course. He had to send a check to pay the tax on his winnings. He wired the money to Jamaica. Soon he was ensnared in a scam that may cost him his home in an assisted living facility outside Seattle. It's been heartbreaking, said Ruth Wilson, a Seatt
Apr 19, 2012, 11:43 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

Elderly woman loses $300K to Jamaican lottery scamNews Story
People ripped off by one scam could be targeted for dozens more. A database of easy targets is now being used by con-artists. Stuart Childers said a stack of documents he showed WFTV Wednesday is paper trial of the hundreds of wire transfers his 75-year-old mother sent to scam artists. She put it to us she wanted to leave a legacy, do something good for the family, Childer said. Childers said his mother fell victim to a Jamaican lottery scam and gave the thieves close to $300,000 in a
Oct 7, 2010, 11:00 am - Lottery News

Prison guard wins $54 million lottery jackpotNews Story
She's been homeless, bankrupt, a robbery victim and assaulted on the job but radiant Rikers Island prison guard Garina Fearon now has 54 million glorious reasons to start living la dolce vita. The 34-year-old single mom from East New York, Brooklyn, who has endured a lifetime of hardship and poverty, told The Post she's the mystery winner of last Friday's Mega Millions drawing. I wanted a better life. I was struggling as a single parent, a beaming Fearon said yesterday. I've really come b
Sep 26, 2010, 9:34 am - Lottery News

Clerk tried to steal $14 million lottery ticketNews Story
A retired New York transit worker is a big winner, but it took some detective work to find out just how big. $14 million, it turns out. The New York Lottery on Friday revealed the tale of Milledge McCassell, 72, of Laurelton, in hope of delivering a moral to the story. McCassell on Aug. 26 took unsigned tickets he bought a day earlier to the Dynasty Deli and Grocery in Jamaica, Queens, to check for possible prizes. He checked them himself on a store scanner, which for one ticket flas
Sep 17, 2010, 9:21 pm - Lottery News

Joint task force created to stop Jamaica lottery scamsNews Story
The feds are cracking down on Jamaican lottery scams, which bilked Americans out of more than $30 million last year, authorities said Tuesday. The brazen con artists are transforming the tropical getaway into a fraudsters paradise pulling in untraceable cash to finance the drug and gun trades with impunity, officials said. It's just an incredible amount of money that's coming down here, said Vance Callender, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston.
May 27, 2009, 3:25 pm - Lottery News

Lottery scam imitates popular sweepstakesNews Story
The fake lottery scam that has bilked residents of the Hudson Valley and elsewhere out of thousands of dollars, has now been expanded to capitalize on the name and reputation of Publishers Clearing House. Typically a person receives a letter telling him or her that they have won a multi-million dollar lottery, but first they must cash an enclosed check and send a money-gram for that amount back to the company. Once an unsuspecting person deposits the check, buys a money-gram and mails it back
Oct 21, 2008, 9:57 am - Lottery News

Year-old Indiana Lottery jackpot finally wonNews Story
Retired steel worker opts for $40 million cash option A retired steelworker is the recipient of the Indiana Lottery's infamous jackpot, which has been mysteriously building over a period of more than a year. Hoosier Lotto is typically won about a half-dozen times per year. The family's rush to confirm their winning $54.5 million Hoosier Lotto ticket caused a brief scare before they all realized the good news. Peter Gilbert, 62, East Chicago, appeared at Hoosier Lottery headquarters in
Nov 15, 2007, 10:13 am - Lottery News

Heartbreak: Lottery scam led to NJ grandmother's suicideNews Story
A Jamaica-based lottery scam promising a $2.5 million windfall cost Ann Mowle her entire life savings of $248,000 before the 72-year-old grandmother from Monroe decided she had enough. Mowle donated her clothes to charity, left her beloved toy poodle Molly at a dog groomers and drove to Spring Lake on Oct. 31. A pair of fishermen found her body on the edge of a jetty at the Worthington Avenue beach the next day. Investigators determined Mowle's death was a suicide. Mowle's family blames
Nov 12, 2007, 11:16 pm - Lottery News

Jamaica police make progress into multimillion dollar lottery scamNews Story
The Montego Bay police continue to make inroads into the multimillion dollar lottery scam which saw several arrests being made in recent times. According to Superintendent in charge of St. James, Steve McGregor, two houses regarded as dial up houses, a term used for places where the scam is carried out, have been identified. The first house located on Sun Valley Road in Glendevon, was the scene of a murder last Friday night, where a several hundred thousand dollars was reportedly stolen.
Mar 15, 2007, 9:51 am - Lottery News