Extradited From Panama: Jamaican National Faces 29-Count Indictment in Publishers Clearing House Lottery Call Scam

Charges are allegations; every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The government's announcement is attached: U.S. Attorney's Office release on the Campbell extradition.

Here is what happened

According to the indictment, as described in the release, fraudsters pretended to reach out to people in the United States on behalf of Publishers Clearing House. Five specific victims were contacted by phone and email and told they had won large cash prizes.

One of them, identified as VICTIM 1, was about 75 years old in 2020 and lived in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He was told he had won a large cash prize and a Land Rover.

The pattern is a familiar one:

• Victims were told they had to prepay expenses, such as taxes and administrative fees, to claim their winnings.
• Once a victim paid, the victim was told more fees were due and asked for larger payments.
• The money was routed through intermediaries in the United States and then onward.

The indictment alleges that Campbell lived in Jamaica in 2020, traveled to Panama around May 2021, and used a Google account with the address PCH8501@gmail.com in connection with the scheme.

The roles alleged

The government alleges that Cotton was a U.S.-based intermediary Campbell used to receive money transfers from lottery scam victims. Transfers were allegedly sent from an account belonging to Cotton to other associates of Campbell, including a bank account in Panama belonging to one of Campbell's contacts.

The Land Rover detail is unusual. According to the release, coconspirators in the United States bought a salvage Land Rover and repaired it with parts that VICTIM 1 shipped to them. Around October 2020, the vehicle was shipped from an auto body shop in Queens, New York to a car dealership in Kingston, Jamaica, where it came into Campbell's possession.

The charges

Both defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Campbell also faces mail fraud, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of property taken by fraud charges.

The release lists the statutory maximums:

1. Up to 20 years in prison on each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, mail fraud, and wire fraud.
2. Up to 10 additional years on each fraud count if the government proves the offense victimized ten or more people over age 55, or targeted people over age 55.
3. Up to 10 years for interstate transportation of property taken by fraud.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated, with help from the U.S. Marshals Service Harrisburg Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition.

Here is why it matters

This is a fraud prosecution, not a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case. But the method matters to anyone who contacts consumers by phone. The first contact in a sweepstakes or lottery scam is usually a call or a message claiming to be from a well-known brand. Every one of these schemes teaches consumers that an unexpected call about a prize is a con.

Two points stand out.

First, distance is not protection. According to the indictment, Campbell lived in Jamaica in 2020 and traveled to Panama around May 2021. Campbell has now been extradited from Panama to face the charges in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Extradition takes time, but it happens.

Second, intermediaries carry real exposure. The government's theory against Cotton rests on receiving and forwarding victim money, not on making calls. Anyone who lets a stranger use an account to move funds should take note.

What this means for you

1. Never require upfront payments to collect a prize. Legitimate sweepstakes do not charge winners taxes or fees in advance. Say so in your official rules and your customer communications.
2. Protect your brand. If scammers are using your company's name in calls or emails, document it and report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the USPIS.
3. Make your real outreach easy to verify. Ensure you publish the phone numbers and email domains you use.
4. Train customer service staff. Agents should know how to respond when a caller asks whether a prize call was real.

As the Postal Inspection Service put it in the release, anyone told to pay taxes or fees upfront to collect a prize should stop and verify the claim before sending money. That advice works for businesses, too.

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Jamaican National Extradited to United States on Fraud and Money Laundering Charges (Oct. 30, 2026).