News writer
Even though people are warned all the time of lottery scams out there, they still take place and people still become victims of those scams.
Multi-million-dollar lottery scam
The latest lottery scam to be discovered was when U.S. Marshals arrested a man in South Florida after he was accused by federal prosecutors of taking part in a multi-million-dollar lottery scam with two other men. The trio reportedly targeted “at least 20” people all over the age of 55.
According to an unsealed grand jury indictment obtained by WPLG, Nickoy Campbell, a Jamaican-American living in Margate, was being charged in Maryland federal court. Brothers Dwayne Henry and Wayne Anthony Henry, who live in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Landover Hills, were also charged in the case.
On July 11, Campbell, 29, was booked into the Broward County Jail and was scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court. Records state the Henry brothers were arrested back in January.
All three of the men were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, authorities said.
Victims in multiple states
Court documents state the three men allegedly raked in more than $9.5 million from the victims. These victims lived in multiple states, including Alaska, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee.
How did the alleged scam work? The men reportedly contacted the victims telling them they had won millions of dollars in lotteries or sweepstakes. However, in order for these “winners” to claim their money, they had to first pay taxes and fees, the indictment states.
A Publishers Clearing House victim
For one of the victims, prosecutors state the men told the Florida resident that he or she won $8.4 million in a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. In order to collect that money, the victim was told they had to send $100,000 to cover taxes and fees.
Officials say the victim allegedly sent a $40,000 cashier's check made payable to Campbell, which was also deposited into Campbell's TD Bank account.
Lottery scam in Oregon
Another one of the victims was from Oregon, who was allegedly told by the suspects that they had won a $5.5 million lottery prize, court documents state.
Authorities said the victim was allegedly told that after they sent the required taxes and fees, they:
Received a metal briefcase containing partial payment of the lottery winnings and would receive a code to unlock the briefcase.
In addition, the indictment states the victim was told:
[If they] opened the briefcase without receiving the code, the money would be destroyed by an exploding ink pack inside the briefcase.
Court records state the Henry brothers sent the package from a Staples store in Lanham, Maryland.
Conceal the payment in a coloring book
Another victim from Alaska was told to send cash via FedEx to a Walgreens store in Maryland. These instructions included concealing one of the payments “inside a hollowed-out children's coloring book,” officials said.
Prosecutors said Campbell and the Henry brothers ran the scheme for over three years, beginning in October 2020.
If the trio is convicted, they could face up to two decades in federal prison and hefty fines.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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