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Black Immigrant Daily News
A Jamaican man pleaded guilty in Miami federal court on Friday to participating in a lottery scam targeting elderly victims in the US.
According to court documents, Greg Warren Clarke, 29, of Montego Bay, St James, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for his role in a Jamaica-based lottery scheme that convinced American victims to pay money to collect fictitious lottery winnings.
An indictment was filed against Clarke in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida in April 2019 and unsealed upon his extradition to the US, which occurred in May of this year.
The US Department of Justice quoted Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division: “This guilty plea demonstrates the Justice Department’s dedication to prosecuting those responsible for fraudulent lottery schemes, even when they commit their crimes from foreign countries. We will continue to aggressively combat scams that seek to prey on older Americans.”
As part of his guilty plea, Clarke admitted that, from September 2013 to August 2015, he worked with co-conspirators, including Claude Anthony Shaw, in a scheme to defraud people.
According to the court, the victims were called and falsely told that they had won over a million dollars in a lottery and needed to pay fees or taxes to claim their winnings. Victims were instructed to send their money through wire transfers or the mail to Shaw and other individuals.
Clarke further admitted that, as part of the conspiracy, he and Shaw discussed (over the phone and through cell phone text messages) plans to receive victims’ money.
At Clarke’s direction, Shaw received money from victims through wire transfers and the mail. Clarke further admitted that he and Shaw discussed arrangements for victims to send money to other individuals with whom Shaw worked. Clarke then instructed Shaw to send the victims’ money to Clarke in Jamaica, usually through wire transfers.
Victims who sent money to Clarke and his co-conspirators never received any lottery winnings.
Shaw previously pleaded guilty to mail fraud in the US District Court in Fort Lauderdale. In June 2017, he was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
Clarke is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28.
NewsAmericasNow.com
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