GETS 192 MONTHS FOR FALSELY PROMISING SENIORS MILLIONS IN CASH WINNINGS
DO (41) of St. James Parish, Jamaica, was sentenced in early November to 192 months for his involvement in a phony sweepstakes scheme that purloined “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from vulnerable American seniors.
Apparently, DO would reach out to his victims via emails, text messages or phone calls, and claimed that they had won millions in a sweepstakes, but to redeem that prize money, they first needed to pay “taxes and fees.”
Strangely, his marks were also instructed to purchase “electronics, jewelry and clothing” which were sent to an address in Florida (and then re-directed to Jamaica). And, of course, no prize monies were ever paid.
In a written statement, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, noted, “The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through fraudulent schemes …. Through our National Elder Fraud Hotline, we identify perpetrators of these schemes and prioritize the pursuit of those who deliberately target vulnerable consumers, who often can least afford to sustain financial losses.”
DO definitely made a bad draw there.
# # #