Four more Jamaicans charged in the United States in what authorities say is a multimillion-dollar lottery scam pleaded not guilty in federal court in North Dakota yesterday.Jason Jahalal, Kazrae Gray, Dahlia Hunter, and Xanu Morgan all waived detention hearings and will remain in custody pending further court proceedings, according to court documents. No immediate trial date was set for any of the suspects.
They were among eight suspects extradited from Jamaica to Bismarck last week to face charges in what authorities say is a scam that bilked at least 90 mostly elderly Americans out of more than US$5.7 million. The four others pleaded not guilty last week.
A total of 15 people are facing charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. Each count carries a potential maximum sentence of either 20 or 30 years in prison, according to Assistant US Attorney Clare Hochhalter, who is leading the prosecution.
The suspects are accused of calling victims, persuading them to send money, and wiring the money to bank accounts in Jamaica. Authorities have dubbed the case “Operation Hard Copy”, a reference to lists of prospective victims’ contact information used by scammers.
The alleged mastermind, Lavrick Willocks, pleaded not guilty in January. Among the remaining defendants, one is awaiting trial in Rhode Island, one is in custody in Jamaica awaiting extradition to the US, and four are still fugitives.
Sanjay Williams, who authorities say was a cohort of Willocks in Jamaica, and ran a separate scam, was convicted by a US jury in 2015 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The investigation has been ongoing for more than five years and involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
this is the most mind boggling thing about the law that some people dont even know! Even if you are in fact guilty,your lawyer can advise you to plead not guilty…even when all the facts show you are guilty.yes its a waste of the court time and all our time but it is perfectly legal n acceptable!!smh
Very True but sometimes I just don’t understand the law.
They will give u more time for scamming or robbery when compared to murder or drugs.
A child could tell you that murder and drugs are worse.
I’m 100% against scamming but if i call someone and tell them they won money and they send me their money, i get 20 years in prison?
The person who sent the money had a choice. Most times the person who is killed had no choice.
The law is funny.
Evidence could have been handle improperly.
Easy come easy go, was it worth it? The prison time, the stress and the shame, my answer is no. The elders/Granny use to say “learn fi satisfy wid weh u have”. “Don’t love keep bad company”, “pray each day”, etc. If we follow those wise words from the elders we won’t go astray. Unno want 2 much and don’t want to work
Let’s see how this will turn out. Plea or no plea, time will be served.
No plea deh deh fi dem. Dem kraype up di whole Wilcox crew. Now dem aguh FACE some WILling COCKS inna di pen fi di next 10-15 years.
:ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak