The Jamaican man who US authorities said masterminded a lottery scam that defrauded at least 95 mostly elderly Americans, out of more than US $5.8 m has been sentenced to six years in federal prison.
According to reports in international media, prosecutors said 29-year-old Lavrick Willocks operated the scam out of his home in Jamaica, where he lived with his mother.
They eventually charged 27 people and identified victims in at least five states: North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and Arizona. Authorities said one of the victims died by suicide.
It’s believed to be the first large-scale Jamaican lottery scam tried in US courts.
It was prosecuted in North Dakota because the investigation began there six years ago, in 2012, a year after an 82-year-old woman lost her life savings.
All of the defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted, and most have been sentenced, including Willocks mother, Dahlia Hunter, who was sentenced last week to about one and a half years of time served.
Willocks pleaded guilty in July 2017 to conspiracy, and prosecutors dropped 65 other counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.
He had faced up to 40 years in prison, but Assistant US Attorney Jonathan O’Konek recommended six years because Willocks cooperated and his plea deal prompted several other defendants to also plead guilty.
Willocks reportedly apologized for his role in the scheme, during Monday’s (Oct 15) sentencing but denied being the kingpin, accusing the US government of overstating his involvement.
He told US District Judge Daniel Hovland, that he was being portrayed as something he is not, that the word mastermind or kingpin, exaggerates his role. He added that if he hadn’t been involved, it wouldn’t have stopped anything.
Hovland credited Willocks with cooperating but called him a “ringleader” and ordering him to pay US $1.5 in restitution.
In July, the US courts ordered that cash and jewellery seized from Willocks when he was arrested in Jamaica in November 2016 be liquidated and the proceeds doled out to victims.
The property includes the equivalent of nearly US $12,000 and jewellery including gold chains and Rolex watches.
Willocks will be eligible for parole after serving another three years.