40-Count Indictment in a Jamaican Lottery Telemarketing Scam: The Pawtucket Case

What happened

On April 5, 2018, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island, part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced the indictment of Shawn Whitfield, 47, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He was charged with one count of conspiracy, ten counts of mail fraud and twenty-nine counts of wire fraud.

Whitfield had first been charged by criminal complaint as part of the elder fraud sweep announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in February 2018. According to the release, that sweep was the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history, with more than 250 defendants worldwide and alleged losses of more than half a billion dollars.

The allegations

According to the release:

• The lottery scam originated in Jamaica and targeted U.S. residents, many of them seniors.
• Victims were contacted by telephone and told they had won a lottery.
• They were told their winnings would not be released until they paid taxes or fees up front.
• Victims were instructed to send those payments to Whitfield at his Pawtucket residence.
• Between July 2015 and January 2018, Whitfield allegedly collected about $101,541 from at least 47 people in 23 states.
• Most of the money was allegedly transferred electronically to co-conspirators or others at their direction.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) agents searched Whitfield's residence on February 20, 2018, with help from the Pawtucket Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service. He was arrested the same day at his workplace in Norwood, Massachusetts.

An indictment is an allegation, not evidence of guilt. Whitfield is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Why it matters

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) prohibits requesting payment to receive a prize. Legitimate prize promotions never require up-front fees. Federal prosecutors use mail and wire fraud statutes to reach the U.S.-based people who receive and forward these payments, even when callers operate abroad.

Practical steps

• Never require payment to claim a prize or winnings.
• Disclose clearly that no purchase or payment is necessary in any prize promotion.
• Do not act as a receiving address for funds from people you do not know.
• Educate older customers and relatives that real lotteries do not call to demand fees.