A dual Jamaican and U.S. citizen charged in connection with the operation of a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme was sentenced in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Department of Justice announced today.
Felecia Roxanne Lindo, 33, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison and three years’ supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. in Charlotte. Lindo was also ordered to pay $292,900 in restitution.
Lindo pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in the Western District of North Carolina. As part of her guilty plea, Lindo acknowledged that from in or about 2011 through at least in or about September 2012, she was a member of a lottery fraud conspiracy that targeted victims in the United States.
“Lottery scammers tied to Jamaica continue to prey on victims in the United States, promising large winnings in a lottery when in fact the victims are duped into sending the money to a member of the scheme,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting those who participate in international lottery schemes, which often target elderly Americans.”
Lindo was charged on Sept. 20, 2016, with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of her guilty plea, Lindo acknowledged that victims of the scheme received a telephone call stating that they had won money in a sweepstakes or lottery. Victims were instructed to send money for fees or other expenses in order to release their purported lottery winnings. The victims of the scheme sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lindo, who then forwarded a portion of the money to Jamaica. Lindo acknowledged there was no lottery, that there were no winnings, and that she kept some the victims’ money for her own benefit.
“The prison sentence demonstrates the serious consequences of engaging in fraud designed to steal from Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina. “We appreciate the work of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch in investigating and prosecuting international lottery scams operating in the Western District.”
“The Postal Inspection Service seeks to end fraud on American citizens, many of whom are older, by those engaged in international lottery schemes,” said Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Division. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates there are no safe havens for those who participate in these types of fraud schemes.”
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort to work with federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica that prey on U.S. citizens.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Readler and U.S. Attorney Rose commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Raquel Toledo of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelli H. Ferry of the Western District of North Carolina.