A Jamaican national, who was previously extradited to the United States from Jamaica, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in connection with a fraudulent Jamaica-based lottery scheme that targeted elderly victims in the United States.
According to court documents, Antony Linton Stewart, 39, of St. James Parish, Jamaica, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
As part of his plea agreement, Stewart admitted that he contacted elderly Americans by telephone and falsely told them that they had won money and other prizes in a sweepstakes or lottery.
Stewart told victims that they needed to send money to pay fees and taxes on their winnings. Stewart contacted victims repeatedly for as long as they could be persuaded to send additional money.
At Stewart’s direction, victims used wire transfers and the U.S. Postal Service, among other means, to send money to individuals in the United States and Jamaica who served as intermediaries and transmitted the money to Stewart. In fact, no lottery ever existed, and no victim ever received any money or other prizes.
The scheme defrauded victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch is committed to investigating fraudulent schemes targeting elderly Americans, wherever those schemes are based,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Stewart is the latest example in the department’s ongoing efforts to root out and deter fraud from foreign locations that target our most vulnerable consumers.”
“Each year, millions of older Americans suffer heavy financial losses in the hands of scammers operating in the United States and abroad,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. “Today’s guilty plea underscores our efforts to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of elder fraud schemes no matter where they originate. We will continue to join forces with our law enforcement counterparts to do all we can to stop these criminals from stealing from our seniors.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is committed to investigating those who use the U.S. Mail to commit fraud and target elderly and vulnerable American citizens both domestically and abroad,” said Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen of the USPIS Philadelphia Division. “Today’s plea exemplifies the unwavering efforts of Postal Inspectors in collaboration with our law enforcement partners – here in the United States and around the world – to bring these callous criminals to justice.”
READ OTHER STORIES:
‘I Don’t Want To Die, Colleague Narrates Final Moments of Doctor Killed in Elevator Accident
NNPC, NIPCO Partner To Deliver CNG To Nigerians
President Tinubu Writes Senate, Seeks Approval for Military Action Against Niger Junta
How I Survived Being Poisoned In Prison When Abacha Detained Me- Obasanjo
Trump Pleads Not Guilty To 2020 US Election Conspiracy Charges
