CHARLOTTE, United States (CMC) — The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) says a 33-year-old woman with dual Jamaican and US nationality has been jailed for 24 months after being found guilty of participating in a Jamaica-based fraudulent lottery scheme.

The DOJ said that Felecia Roxanne Lindo was also sentenced to three years supervised release by US District Court Judge Robert J Conrad Jr in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Additionally, Lindo was ordered to pay US$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, the DOJ said 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 targetted victims in the US.

“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 A 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,” he added.

The DOJ said 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 DOJ said.

It said 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, according to the DOJ.

The DOJ said Lindo’s prosecution is part of the department’s effort to work with US federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica “that prey on US citizens.”