News writer
Authorities have announced that a man has been charged in connection with a lottery scam worth $12 million.
The lottery scam
According to court documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun, the 32-year-old suspect made his first court appearance on Monday, September 16, in New York. The criminal complaint was filed in the District of Maryland.
The 32-year-old suspect, who is from Jamaica, and three co-conspirators were allegedly contacting victims by mail or over the phone and convincing them that they had won $150 million in a lottery or sweepstakes. This lottery scam has been happening since 2020.
In order for these "winners" to receive their prize, they would have to send a payment in advance to cover taxes and other fees, according to court documents.
Over $12 million in payments
Since the scheme began in 2020, the victims allegedly sent at least $12 million in payments to the suspects, which was done through wire transfer, case, checks, and gift cards, officials said.
According to the indictment, there was a victim in Alaska who lost over $7 million to the scheme and another victim in Baltimore County allegedly lost over $650,000 to the scam.
Authorities said the three co-conspirators, another Jamaican man and two men from Prince George’s County, have previously been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of the same lottery scheme.
New charges
The final suspect in this lottery scheme has now been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, officials said.
If he is convicted of these charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The suspect appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and he was ordered to be detained pending his transfer to the District of Maryland.
No scam here
While the suspects above were trying to scam people out of money, one lucky player in Maryland used these text messaging scams to his benefit.
A man in Eastern Shore won $50,000 playing Pick 5 after he used the phone number associated with a would-be solicitor’s text message!
The winner, who chose to remain anonymous but called himself "Persistent Player," told lottery officials he buys lottery tickets daily. He usually plays multiple sets of numbers, like license plates or birthdays, when choosing his Pick 5 numbers.
However, he decided to mix it up a little when buying his tickets for the July 20 drawing. He kept getting text messages from a number asking for money. He was getting so many of these text messages that the five digits stuck in his mind and he decided to add that number to his Pick 5 rotation.
"They kept calling and texting me and I said, 'I am going to use that scammer to my advantage,'" he told lottery officials.
It worked, as he played 3, 4, 2, 6, 8 during the July 20 evening drawing and it hit to give him $50,000. He purchased the winning ticket at Walmart #1890, located at 2702 N. Salisbury Blvd. in Salisbury.
"Persistent Player" said he will be using his prize money to pay some bills and put any leftover money in the bank. He told lottery officials the key to success is to play within your means and don’t change your numbers. It’s about staying "persistent and consistent," he said!
Enjoy playing the Maryland Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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