United States (US) officials have revealed that a Jamaican guy living in Georgia is being prosecuted for allegedly running a multistate sweepstakes scam that defrauded four elderly ladies out of thousands of dollars.
According to the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, a federal grand jury indicted Jimmy Smith, 30, on accusations of money laundering, conspiracy to conduct mail and wire fraud, and unlawful financial activities. A 30-year-old Georgia citizen named Keshelski Bates entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to conduct mail fraud and was freed on $100,000 bond pending sentencing.
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According to the allegations, the victims, who are from the states of Connecticut, New York, Texas, and California, were informed that they had won multimillion-dollar jackpots in a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes and that they would have to pay taxes or fees before they could receive their “prizes.”
In the indictment, prosecutors said that thousands of dollars earned from the scheme were taken out of many US bank accounts via automated teller machines in Jamaica.
Smith is presently being held in home detention under electronic monitoring after being detained in Florida on March 17. He is expected to appear in federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, tomorrow.
Prosecutors cited one instance in which a victim, identified as D. P., was approached over the phone in July 2022 by a person posing as Publishers Clearing House, a well-known American organization that runs prizes and other games and contests.
The indictment reveals that a caller convinced D. P. to pay ‘taxes’ for a false US$2.5-million prize, leading D. P. to send a US$75,000 cheque to Keshelski & K Transport, a company controlled by Bates. Another victim, J. H., from California, issued a US$50,000 cheque to 4K Shipping Done Right and Bates’ wife on October 31, 2023.
In the same year, on November 3rd, J. H. issued a cashier’s check for US$65,000 to Keshelski & K Transport.
