Pleaded guilty to wire, mail fraud perpetrated against elderly American victims

A Jamaican man out of Montego Bay, St James – 27-year-old Romario Mark Anthony Murray – has been sentenced to 51 months in Federal prison for lottery scamming after pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud perpetrated against elderly American victims.

He was sentenced last Friday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. The convictions stemmed from activities designed to defraud elderly victims of their money through false promises of sweepstakes prizes.

United States Attorney Jason R. Coody, for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence, declaring that, “Americans are fed up with the constant barrage of scams that maliciously target the elderly and other vulnerable citizens”.

Coody added: “Given our large elder population, Florida experiences far too many instances of fraud against unsuspecting, vulnerable seniors.”

He continued by saying that, “with the assistance of our dedicated law enforcement partners, we are committed to investigating and vigorously prosecuting those who seek to steal the hard-earned savings of our senior citizens”.

Court documents reflect that, between 2017 and 2019, Murray and others conspired to receive wire transfers and packages mailed by victims, totaling US$608,801.99. The conspirators then took a percentage of the funds for themselves before forwarding the remainder to Murray in Jamaica.

Nineteen victims were identified through banking records and law enforcement analysis. Murray’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Sending clear message to scammers

Juan A. Vargas, acting inspector in charge, US Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, commented on the sentencing, saying: “This sentencing should send a clear message to criminals defrauding American residents. The US Postal Inspection Service will relentlessly pursue them, regardless of international borders, and bring them to justice.”

Since the late 1990s, telemarketers in Jamaica have been engaging in a scam in which they contact victims in the US and falsely claim they have won large sweepstakes prizes. Victims, who are primarily elderly, are induced to send cash or cash equivalents in order to release their supposed prizes.

LOTTERY SCAMMING, FRAUD BECOMES MORE PREVALENT IN RECENT YEARS

The victims’ funds are often sent via wire transfers and US Postal Service packages.

In recent years, the prevalence of lottery scamming and fraud has grown, particularly among Jamaican youth.

Jamaica’s  Ministry of National Security has estimated that proceeds from lottery scamming, money laundering, cybercrimes and drug and firearms trafficking have resulted in the annual flow of at least US$1 billion into Jamaica. In 2021, 59 million Americans lost close to $30 billion collectively due to phone scams.