90-year-old ND woman lost $400K to Jamaican lottery scam — but she was paid back just $287

Comment #21

Jpaddy — Sun, 24 Nov 2019 15:28:21 GMT

What a pity. All that time, she didn't have a single soul around her telling her it's a scam.

Comment #20

mikeintexas — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 01:57:28 GMT

It was just my thinking that if they had any regular contact with her, they should have been aware of her financial activity...so yeah, they deserve some blame. If they didn't see her but only on her birthday and holidays, then they deserve some shame.

Comment #19

Stack47 — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 21:03:38 GMT

At her age, all her grandchildren are probably adults, but if they and their parents only see her on birthdays and holidays, she probably has lots of time on her hands. I'm nowhere near 90, but if I lost say $400,000 in the stock market, unless my kids gave me bad advice or were part of the transactions, there is no blame to place on them.

Comment #18

Stack47 — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 20:48:37 GMT

The entire process that cost her $400,000 though beginning with a simple letter, phone call, or email, probably took several months to develop and common sense went out the window around the time she borrowed money from her sister.

Comment #17

KY Floyd — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 19:15:49 GMT

Older and wiser don't apply to people like her.

As they get older wiser stops applying to everybody at some point. Worse a lot of people start to get less wise, or at least worse at thinking clearly than they used to. There's a reason that scammers of almost every breed prey on older people.

Lisa, Ron, Tim Jeff are just as culpable

Well, duh. They obviously didn't visit her often enough for her to share the great news that she won $19 million in the lottery. Or, equally likely, maybe... [ More ]

Comment #16

Jpaddy — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 22:11:26 GMT

Obviously, Older and wiser don't apply to people like her. $287? That's not even enough to pay for the coffin. It pays to exercise common sense.

1) If u didn't play lotto, then it's impossible for u to win it.

2) Even if u played, no lotto agency will call u. At least they will never ask u to make a deposit to claim ur winnings.

Real simple.

Comment #15

mikeintexas — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 23:24:32 GMT

^This^

Bless her heart, but I also think her kids deserve some % of the blame.

Comment #14

Stack47 — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 18:57:40 GMT

Maybe she did it so her kids and grandkids would stop by and see her more. If she has any money left, bet now one or two of them are there every day.

Comment #13

sgtwilliams — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 08:31:02 GMT

The biggest question is if she is 90 yrs old and already sitting on close to half a million, why did she feel the need at her age to increase her wealth? That almost seems like greed and it cost her her life's savings. No one should take advantage of people, especially the elderly. But isn't there a certain level of responsibility on her part

Comment #12

noise-gate — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 21:04:50 GMT

.. but the larger picture l am painting is, in both instances money is handed over.

l watched a wildebeest migration on tv the other night. What was interesting was that these wildebeest counting into the hundreds of thousands would attempt to cross crocodile infested waters.

The crocs were in no hurry, they would let 30-50 swim by then they would pounce. Some got away from those slashing teeth, others not. My point being: These scammers are like those crocs, waiting for an Edna to come al... [ More ]

Comment #11

Stack47 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 19:09:51 GMT

, but there is a huge difference in buying lottery tickets because someone is going to win a huge jackpot and you can't win if you don't play and winning a huge jackpot from a lottery you never entered.

Congratulations, you just won $10 million in a lottery you never entered. To collect your imaginary winnings, just give us you bank account numbers, any pin numbers or passwords and we will deposit the money into your account.

Another option is calling from a throw-away phone and conning t... [ More ]

Comment #10

noise-gate — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:02:50 GMT

I think Edna other victims of scammers needs to come to the realization that giving money over to these lowlifes is in some ways no different than playing the lottery on a regular basis.

Folks have spent far more than $400,000 in their lifetime, and won hardly anything worth crowing about. Edna just happens to have the distinction of giving it over in large chunks, having been told You HAVE Won! If you foolish enough to write or wire checks to complete strangers- at least have the remaining r... [ More ]

Comment #9

Stack47 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 17:15:16 GMT

she has been paid back only $287 of the $400,000 she's owed.

She gave away $400,000, but because the scammers were caught, it looks like she believes somebody owes her money. A few weeks ago, a couple of homeless people got into a fight over who owned the rights to the location where they could beg for money. Turns out, neither of them were homeless or indigent. Who do all the people that gave them donations talk to so they can get their money back

Comment #8

brees2012 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:56:59 GMT

Yesterday A Congressman were saying , how much elderly are scammed per year .

As he was talking ,I remember a family member said , where her boss ,

were being scammed by foreigners . And officials were involved , didn't think

the boss wouldn't get his money back ... This took place over 10 years ago .

Family members should watch over there parents , so this doesn't happen

Comment #7

Groppo — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 04:20:03 GMT

.

So, am I supposed to be saddened for the family's loss or what?

How could anyone let them themselves be hammered for so much?

Because it sounds like it was all a lie to begin with.

I don't think the article goes into any of the how (a.i.i.w.)

Groppo

Comment #6

Stack47 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 03:13:12 GMT

Gave away $399,713; what else is there to say

Comment #5

HaveABall — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 02:07:52 GMT

It's a shame that Edna's sister will never get her money back because of her sister's INTENSE need to be secretive for extended periods of time

Comment #4

music* — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 21:51:19 GMT

Edna is 90 years old. That places her in The Greatest Generation. That generation is slowly disappearing. They helped save the World from two-bit Dictators.

We are enjoying The Long Peace.

Comment #3

noise-gate — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 21:22:41 GMT

These stories are always heartbreaking, but Lisa, Ron, Tim Jeff are just as culpable. Posing for a family shot is mind blowing. Where were these concerned kids when their Mother was being fleeced? The old excuse Mom wants her independence, so we leave her alone is Out here l have a friend of a friend who said My kids have dumped me off here in a retirement community, l only receive b'day Christmas cards from them. They never check in on me. She ended with, 'They in for a rude awakening, l have a... [ More ]

Comment #2

MsBee18 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 21:02:14 GMT

Stupidity always comes with a price.

Comment #1

Raven62 — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 18:11:04 GMT

Once the Money is Gone: It's hard to find it and Get It Back

90-year-old ND woman lost $400K to Jamaican lottery scam — but she was paid back just $287

Lottery Post — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 17:29:39 GMT

Life savings gone for good

A 90-year-old North Dakota woman who was robbed of her life savings by a Jamaican lottery scam says she has been paid back only $287 of the $400,000 she's owed.

Edna Schmeets of Harvey, a small central North Dakota town about 77 miles northeast of Bismarck, was the victim whose case launched what became the first large-scale Jamaican lottery scam case prosecuted in the U.S. All 31 defendants have been prosecuted, including 14 Jamaican nationals who were extradite... [ More ]