A Jamaican Lottery Scammer Sentenced To 5 Years In US Prison & Ordered To Pay US$600,000

[Sharingbuttons]A 32-year-old Jamaican man who scammed elderly residents out of money by falsely telling them they had won millions in Jamaican lotteries has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Ricardo Reid, who used the aliases of “Robert Gates,” “Mr. Bogohazian” and “Damien Boswel” was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court, according to Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Reid previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

According to court documents and statements, between 2011 and 2016, Reid purchased mailing lists that contained elderly residents’ addresses and other information. He then contacted the individuals and tricked them into believing they had won millions in lotteries and sweepstakes.

Reid also told the elderly residents that to redeem the “winnings,” they needed to pay registration fees, other costs and taxes. Reid told the elderly residents the calls were from the IRS, lottery and bank officials.

Reid used call forwarding and Voice Over Internet Protocol services to make and receive calls that masked his location and phone number.

In addition to the prison term, the judge sentenced Reid to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of nearly US$600,000.