SOUTH CAROLINA, USA— Four Jamaicans were on Wednesday sentenced to between two and five years in United States federal prison for their role in an international lottery telemarketing scheme which milked at least 67 victims, mainly elderly Americans, of more than US$300,000.

Those convicted are 30-year-old Fabian Gray, alias Mike Taylor; Romaine Gordon, 30; Avia Reid, 30, and Khalelah Powell, 20, all of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

According to a release from the United States Office for the District of South Carolina, Gray and Gordon were each sentenced to 63 months, while Reid was sent to jail for 51 months.

Powell, however, received a lesser sentence of 33 months in federal prison.

The release said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) led a probe into the individuals residing in the Myrtle Beach area who were operating a lottery telemarketing scam with domestic and international connections.

According to evidence presented to the court, as part of the scam, the defendants would contact elderly victims via phone and mail, and falsely inform the victims they had won a sweepstakes.

The Jamaicans told the victims they had to pay taxes and fees in order to receive their winnings.

Of the approximately 67 victims, the US Attorney’s Office said 25 of them were “more than 80 years old, and several victims were targeted multiple times”.

In total, the culprits received more than US$300,000 from their victims.

“The funds were ultimately withdrawn by, or transferred to, conspirators in Jamaica, and the defendants retained a 25 per cent cut of the proceeds,” the statement read.

In addition to their federal prison terms, the Jamaicans were each sentenced to three years of court-ordered supervision in the event they are not deported upon release.

They were also ordered to pay US$349,433.75 in restitution to their victims.