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New Jersey man sentenced to nearly three years in prison for running lottery schemeNews Story
Your reminder to be on the lookout for fake lottery scams By Kate Northrop Earlier this month, a New Jersey man was sentenced to 33 months in prison for conducting a mail fraud scheme that fooled victims into believing they won the lottery. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that a New Jersey man was handed a 33-month prison sentence for illegally laundering the proceeds of a mail fraud scheme by way of advertising a false lottery to victims. In August 2023, Pablo Estrada, 27,
Jun 28, 2024, 7:00 am - Lottery News

Maryland brothers arrested for $3.5 million lottery scam that allegedly involved exploding briefcaseNews Story
Scammers go through greater lengths to deceive victims By Kate Northrop Two Maryland brothers have been indicted after running a three-year scheme that involved false promises of lottery winnings and a supposedly exploding metal briefcase. The United States Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury charged brothers Dwayne and Wayne Henry, 32 and 34, respectively, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme that offers a false promise o
Jan 25, 2024, 5:58 pm - Lottery News

Michigan police investigate scammers who spent thousands on lottery tickets with stolen credit cardsNews Story
Scam alert for smaller lottery retailers By Kate Northrop Police are investigating credit card fraud in which scammers use stolen credit cards and credit card numbers to buy thousands of dollars' worth of lottery tickets in Michigan. Investigators identified suspects believed to have participated in a fraud ring that buys lottery tickets using stolen credit cards. Michigan police and detectives are currently investigating credit card and lottery scams occurring in Montcalm County
Dec 22, 2023, 7:06 am - Lottery News

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

Lottery scams and fake sweepstakes cost Americans $227 million in 2020News Story
Report finds that victims lost 33% more money in scams compared to 2019 By Kate Northrop A report on sweepstakes, lottery and prize scams revealed that Americans lost a whopping $227 million to con artists last year. Better Business Bureau investigator Steve Baker put out some eye-opening statistics that show a decrease in complaints but a troubling 33% increase in the amount of money lost by Americans to scammers. Kathy Chapman told CBS News the story about how her unsuspecting 84-y
Jun 14, 2021, 10:37 am - Lottery News

New Jersey scammer defrauds 3 elderly women of $675,000News Story
Lotteries urge players to be wary of the telltale signs you are being scammed By Kate Northrop A scammer from New Jersey tricked three elderly women across the country into sending her over $675,000 by convincing them that they owed prepaid taxes as a prerequisite for claiming a prize that didn't exist. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey, Shanile Lyle, 27, of Orange was charged on Monday with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after wrongly convincing her v
Dec 4, 2020, 2:39 pm - Lottery News

Lottery scammer who stole thousands from elderly women pleads guiltyNews Story
Exposed fraud ring defrauded 16 known victims in a two and a half-year conspiracy By Kate Northrop A Colombian woman who helped a fraud ring execute lottery scams that systematically targeted grandmothers was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Tuesday, Luisa Camargo, 39, was sentenced to nine months in jail (that she already served) and two years on supervised release. After joining the fraud ring and causing thousands of dollars in losses, she alone will pay $38,069 in re
Jun 24, 2020, 7:48 am - Lottery News

Michigan Lottery warns public about increase in prize scams during coronavirus outbreakNews Story
The Michigan Lottery is warning the public about a scam in which people are told they've won a big prize but need to pay a fee or provide sensitive personal information to collect it. The scam works like this: A person gets a letter, email, or phone call to inform them that they've won a big lottery prize but must pay a fee or provide sensitive personal information to collect the prize. If the person agrees to pay a fee, the scam artist convinces them to mail a cashier's check, make an ele
Apr 8, 2020, 7:56 am - Lottery News