St James man extradited to US over lottery scam, facing 16 counts | Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

A resident of St James, who was extradited to the US, made his initial appearance in federal court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, in relation to his alleged participation in a phoney sweepstakes scheme that targeted elderly people.

Damone D Oakley, 40, of the Point District, St James, was charged in a 16-count indictment with mail and wire fraud.

The indictment was filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in June 2021.

According to the indictment, Oakley sought to unlawfully enrich himself through a fraudulent sweepstakes scheme targeting the elderly.

Victims throughout the United States received mailings, text messages or phone calls in which they were falsely told that they had won millions of dollars and luxury vehicles in sweepstakes, but first needed to pay taxes and fees in order to claim their winnings.

The indictment alleges that Oakley, using a variety of names — including, Officer Alex Logan and Officer Stan Valentine — instructed his victims on how to send their money, including through the use of wire transfers, direct bank deposits, the US Postal Service and private commercial mail carriers.

Victims were allegedly directed to send money directly to Oakley as well as to individuals in the United States and elsewhere who served as intermediaries and transmitted the money to Oakley.

In addition to sending cash or wire transfers, the indictment alleges that victims were directed to purchase electronics, jewellery and clothing, and to then have the purchased items shipped to mail forwarding services in Florida. The victims never received any “winnings”.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said: “The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch is committed to pursuing criminals who defraud vulnerable US consumers — both domestically and abroad — and to prosecuting them to the full extent of the law.

“This is the first extradition requested by the United States in accordance with the evidentiary rules contained in Jamaica’s recently revised Extradition Act, and we are encouraged by the streamlined extradition process that led to the defendant’s appearance in federal court to face these charges.”

Said US Attorney Gerard M Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania: In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, we are proud to prioritise and prosecute individuals who engage in such acts and commend our law enforcement partners who help make these results possible.”

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