Jamaican man pleads guilty to defrauding U.S. elderly people in fake lottery scam

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A Jamaican national pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to defraud elderly victims in the United States using a fake lottery scheme.

Antony Linton Stewart, 39, of St. James Parish, Jamaica, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the Justice Department said in a news release.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

"Stewart is the latest example in the department's ongoing efforts to root out and deter fraud from foreign locations that targets our most vulnerable consumers," Justice Department Civil Division head Brian M. Boynton said in a statement.

Stewart admitted in court documents that he used the phone to contact elderly victims and lied to them about winning lottery money. The scam worked by telling the victims they had to pay taxes on the "winnings."

At Stewart's direction the victims wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to people in both the United States and Jamaica. Those people served as intermediaries who then transmitted the money to Stewart.

"Each year, millions of older Americans suffer heavy financial losses in the hands of scammers operating in the United States and abroad," said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina said in a statement. "Today's guilty plea underscores our efforts to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of elder fraud schemes no matter where they originate."