Jamaican lottery scammer gets prison time in the US
CLARKSBURG, United States (AP) — A Jamaican man is sentenced to two and a half years in prison for fraudulently telling Americans they won the lottery but had to pay fees and taxes to claim prizes.
A news release from United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld says 53-year-old Davel Godfrey Young of Montego Bay, Jamaica, was sentenced Friday by US District Judge Irene M Keeley in Clarksburg.
Young pleaded guilty in November 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Young and others told US citizens they had won prizes and cars but needed to wire processing fees and taxes to claim them.
He sent fake federal government forms and images of forged multimillion-dollar cashier’s cheques.
Young was ordered to pay US$232,100 in restitution.