FLORIDA, USA – A Jamaican man is now in custody after Florida police reportedly cracked another major lottery scamming network with links to Jamaica that milked elderly victims from New York, Arizona and Texas out of over US$500,000.

Linton Roberts, 50, of Jamaica and Lauderhill, Florida, faces 21 charges, including money laundering, grand theft, larceny, exploitation of the elderly and fraud.

According to NBC 6 News in South Florida, Robert’s bond has been set at US$1.1 million, but he remains at the Joseph V Conte Facility in Pompano Beach.

Detective Richard Clarke from the Lauderhill police said the bond is less money than the “over US$1.4 million” the Jamaican is accused of taking.

He admitted, however, that he can only prove that the accused is linked to about US$500,000.

The scam, which spanned between April 2018 and February 14 this year, reportedly tricked elderly people into believing they won millions in the lottery, the victims contacted and notified of their winnings via the phone. For each victim, the name of the caller changed.

In order to get their winnings, victims were required to pay thousands in taxes through mail cashier’s cheques to an address in Lauderhill that belonged to Roberts. 

The Jamaican was under investigation for nine months, which concluded on Monday with his arrest. 

The probe also identified nine victims, with ages ranging from 75 to 83 years, stated a report from the Sun Sentinel on Robert’s arrest.

But investigators believe Roberts is part of a larger organised fraud ring, but they are of the view that he was not the person who made the calls to victims. 

Based on court documents obtained by Sun Sentinel, investigators said Roberts

“…admitted to participating in a fraud scheme with a number of people in Jamaica”. 

Early in February, Jamaican policewoman Shelian Allen was arrested and charged in connection to a multi-million dollar scamming ring operating in the United States and Jamaica. 

On Tuesday, she was indicted on cocaine charges by a South Florida jury.