Durrant Pate/Contributor

A federal judge in Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States has sentenced a Jamaican man to prison for operating a Jamaica-based fraudulent lottery scheme.

He is 40-year-old Antony Linton Stewart who pleaded guilty on August 3, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in the Western District of North Carolina.  On Monday, January 27, U.S. District Court Judge, Robert J. Conrad sentenced Stewart to 84 months in prison. 

He was also ordered to pay US$1,104,041.74 in restitution. As part of his plea deal, Stewart acknowledged that from 2010 through to August 2016, he led a fraudulent lottery scheme in which he and his co-conspirators targeted victims in the United States. 

Stewart confessed to contacting elderly Americans by phone and falsely telling them that they had won money and other prizes in a sweepstakes or lottery. He also confessed to telling victims that they needed to send money to pay fees and taxes on their winnings.  

The Jamaican national repeatedly contacted victims for as long as they could be persuaded to send additional money. No lottery existed and no victim ever received any winnings.

Holding perpetrators to justice

In commenting on the case, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division remarked, “Overseas lottery schemes are unfortunately a common means by which foreign criminals seek to target U.S. citizens, particularly elder Americans. Such schemes are unacceptable, and the Department will hold accountable those who participate in them.”

For her party, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina commented, “Stealing money from elderly individuals is a despicable crime. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that fraudsters who target and exploit older adults for financial gain will be brought to justice.”

This prosecution is part of the Justice Department’s effort to work with federal and foreign law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica that prey on U.S. citizens. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. 

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Jamaica to secure the arrest and extradition of Stewart. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided significant assistance.

Trial Attorney, Ryan E. Norman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan for the Western District of North Carolina.