WASHINGTON, United States — A South Florida man was sentenced to prison in connection with the operation of a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme, the Department of Justice announced today.

Claude Shaw, 49, of Miramar, Florida, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and three years supervised release by US District Court Judge William P Dimitrouleas in Fort Lauderdale.

Shaw was also ordered to pay US$128,440 in restitution.Shaw pleaded guilty on March 22, to one count of mail fraud in the Southern District of Florida. As part of his guilty plea, Shaw acknowledged that, from in or around September 2013, through in or around August 20l5, he participated in a scheme to defraud victims in the US and unlawfully enrich himself.“Today’s sentencing demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to combatting foreign-based lottery fraud schemes targeting individuals in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.“Financial schemes designed to defraud unsuspecting victims will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”As part of the scheme, victims throughout the US received telephone calls in which they were falsely informed that they had won over $1 million in a lottery and needed to pay money in advance to claim their winnings.The victims were instructed on how, and to whom, to send their money, including being instructed to send their money to Shaw.Victims sent over $100,000 to Shaw, who then forwarded a portion of the money to Jamaica. Victims never received any lottery winnings.“The Postal Inspection Service will continue to actively investigate fraudulent lottery schemes based in Jamaica directed at ripping off victims in the United States,” said Inspector in Charge Antonio J Gomez of the US Postal Inspection Service’s Miami, Florida Division. “Lottery scams tied to Jamaica are targeting victims in the United States, and we will not allow fraudsters to use the US mail to commit their crime.”This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort working with federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes preying on American citizens.