A 41-year-old Jamaican man was found guilty of participating in a fraudulent sweepstakes operation that preyed on elderly victims in the United States and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Damone Oakley entered a guilty plea to two charges of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud in July 2023. In 2022, Oakley, a resident of St. James, was extradited to the US.
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According to the DOJ, Oakley took part in a fraudulent sweepstakes operation that preyed on elderly and vulnerable individuals from at least 2010 to 2019.
According to the report, his victims were tricked into believing they had won millions of dollars and expensive cars in sweepstakes but had to pay taxes and fees before they could claim their rewards through letters, texts, or phone calls.
In the course of the fraud, Oakley allegedly utilized fictitious identities, such as “Officer Alex Logan” and “Officer Stan Valentine,” and gave his victims instructions on where to transfer their money and how to deposit it.
According to the DOJ, his victims were spread out across the country and sent money to Oakley directly through wire transfers, direct bank deposits, the US Postal Service, and private commercial mail carriers. They also sent money to people in other countries and the US who acted as middlemen and transferred the funds to Oakley.
It said that in addition to providing money or wire transfers, Oakley’s victims were instructed to buy apparel, jewelry, and gadgets, which were subsequently shipped to mail forwarding firms in Florida before being delivered to Oakley in Jamaica.
According to the DOJ, Oakley’s victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars during the scam and never got any “winnings.”
Brian M. Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Division stated, “The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through fraudulent schemes.”
“Through our National Elder Fraud Hotline, we identify perpetrators of these schemes and prioritize the pursuit of those who deliberately target vulnerable consumers, who often can least afford to sustain financial losses.”
According to US Attorney Gerard M. Karam, “This sentence reflects our office’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and punishing those who engage in this type of behavior.”
He noted, “Working together with our skilled and dedicated law enforcement partners, Oakley was held accountable for his crimes.”
According to Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the Criminal Investigations Group of US Postal Inspection Services (USPIS), fraudsters working outside of our boundaries formerly believed they could operate without consequence. Those times have passed.
He added, “Postal inspectors track down these scammers no matter where they are. And with our Department of Justice partners’ extradition powers, scammers are brought to the United States to face the music. In this case, it’s to the tune of 192 months in prison.”
