CHARLOTTE, USA — A dual Jamaican and US citizen charged in connection with the operation of a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme was sentenced on Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
doj_logo.jpg Felecia Roxanne Lindo, 33, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison and three years’ supervised release. Lindo was also ordered to pay $292,900 in restitution.
Lindo pleaded guilty on September 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 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 September 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 US Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina.
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 US citizens.
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