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Nigerian lottery scammer sentenced to 14 yearsNews Story
A Nigerian man who swindled three Californians out of more than $400,000 by demanding tax on bogus foreign lottery winnings was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in federal prison. The people who typically fall for such scams are older, sometimes people who have dementia and are lonely and need someone to talk to, an assistant U.S. attorney said. One of Emmanuel I. Onwuzulike's victims, a San Fernando Valley woman, lost her home after she paid more than $368,000 for a phony tax on what she though
Dec 2, 2010, 6:33 am - Lottery News

Con artists target N.J. seniors in lottery scamNews Story
The first call came in December. How are you? How's your day? We have a wonderful thing to tell you, a 65-year-old Ocean County woman said of her first telephone conversation with the Jamaican-sounding strangers. They said I had won an award, the woman said. (The prizes) ranged from $1.5 million to over $5.5 million. The callers told her she had to send them money to purchase stamps so that her prize could be delivered. She sent the money, but then she got more phone calls with vario
Nov 7, 2010, 9:55 am - Lottery News

NJ Lottery warns of telephone scam artistsNews Story
The New Jersey Lottery and New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs are warning everyone to be wary of any caller who claims he or she represents the Lottery. New Jerseyans are getting calls saying they will receive a big jackpot if they only pay small processing fees, said Carole Hedinger, Acting Lottery Director. The Lottery never requires winners to pay a fee to collect what they are owed, and prizes can never be claimed over the telephone, Hedinger said. Recipients of these fraudulent cal
Oct 25, 2010, 2:27 pm - Lottery News

Once a victim, retiree allegedly joined scammers to bilk othersNews Story
Authorities allege that Thomas Murphy, 68, became a mule for an overseas ring that took in $800,000 They preyed on the elderly often by trolling obituaries for new widows or widowers and enticed them into believing they'd won a lottery but needed to pay the tax on their winnings to claim them. Thomas Murphy, 68, a retired principal, teacher and coach from Henderson, Minn., started as a victim. Then, police say, he joined the scam in a failed attempt to try to recoup his losses. Authorit
Oct 20, 2010, 8:39 am - Lottery News

Elderly woman loses $300K to Jamaican lottery scamNews Story
Includes video report People ripped off by one scam could be targeted for dozens more. A database of easy targets is now being used by con-artists. Stuart Childers said a stack of documents he showed WFTV Wednesday is paper trial of the hundreds of wire transfers his 75-year-old mother sent to scam artists. She put it to us she wanted to leave a legacy, do something good for the family, Childer said. Childers said his mother fell victim to a Jamaican lottery scam and gave the thi
Oct 7, 2010, 11:00 am - Lottery News

Lottery scams dupe thousandsNews Story
South Carolina couple's savings disappear; phone rings off hook Dick Long fought in the Philippines under MacArthur. Lillie Long taught first-graders for nearly three decades. Now, every time they go to the mailbox and just about every time they pick up the phone, they're being scammed. The Longs are lured by promises that seem so convincing and so easy to reach: Just send a few dollars and you will win millions in foreign lotteries and sweepstakes. Hopeful, they send the money.
Sep 27, 2010, 9:59 am - Lottery News

Canadian gets 9 years for U.S. lottery scamNews Story
A Vancouver man was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday for running a lottery scam in the United States that defrauded dozens of elderly victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Henry Anekwu, 43, was convicted in April of 10 counts of mail fraud and six counts of wire fraud, all of which were centered around a telemarketing operation that told victims they had won a lottery, but needed to pay taxes or other fees up front to claim their winnings. Individual victims paid as much as $60
Jul 12, 2010, 8:51 pm - Lottery News

Alabama woman gets money back from lottery scamNews Story
An Alabama woman recently got $16,800 back after a joint U.S. and Canadian investigation into fraudulent telemarketers who represented themselves as lottery officials. The Alabama resident, whose name was not released, got her money back on May 14, according to a press release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A multi-agency U.S-Canada initiative called Project COLT was responsible for helping return the money. Many variations exist on the lottery scams, according to
May 24, 2010, 10:56 am - Lottery News

Lottery scam victim, 78, becomes scammer, swindles friendsNews Story
Duped friends, neighbors, pastor out of more than $1 million This was the trip that would bring them the jackpot. Doris Siegel and a friend boarded a plane to Amsterdam in August 2008 for a $1 million payout, money that would finally prove that the Nigerian lottery she'd told friends and neighbors about was no scam. Siegel and her friend met with five men who called themselves Nigerian businessmen, authorities said. They were taken to the basement of a building and told they would need
Mar 30, 2010, 8:28 am - Lottery News

Stringing along Jamaican lottery scammersNews Story
It's a little suspicious when the address linked to a call notifying someone they won the Maryland Lottery is in Michigan. Or Ohio. And Richard Drexel, who has worked in security for part of his career, is no fool. As soon as the call came in for his son, also Richard, the elder Drexel called the Maryland Lottery. No, in fact, they don't call you to notify you you've won they have other means. And they certainly don't ask you to pony up $150 to pay for fees and taxes before you can collect
Dec 14, 2009, 8:45 am - Lottery News