Montreal Telemarketer Gets 111 Months for Canadian Lottery Scam After Arrest on a Jamaica Vacation

The bottom line: cross-border telemarketing fraud is prosecuted where the victims are. Hogan was arrested in Jamaica, extradited and sentenced in Rochester.

The scheme

According to the DOJ, between September 2015 and March 2020, Hogan placed calls from Canada to victims in the United States and told them they had won the Canadian lottery. Before collecting their winnings, victims were required to pay taxes, brokerage fees or customs fees.

The 2021 indictment describes how the money was transferred:

• Victims wired funds to a bank account in Rochester, New York, controlled by co-defendant Bernard Perkins, or mailed funds to Perkins or to U.S. addresses controlled by co-defendants Anthony Laughing, Jr., Cory LaPlant and others.
• Those co-defendants kept a small portion and paid co-defendants Devlin Laughing and Brenda Garrow to smuggle the remainder from the United States to Hogan in Canada.

The indictment alleged that about 37 victims over age 55 mailed about 200 packages and wired funds totaling about $2 million. By sentencing, the DOJ put total losses at more than $2.6 million.

The arrest

Hogan was apprehended while on vacation in Jamaica at the request of the United States and was extradited in January 2021. According to the DOJ, he paid for the vacation with money from the scheme. When he was indicted, Perkins, Anthony Laughing, Jr., Devlin Laughing and LaPlant had already been convicted, and Garrow had been sentenced to three years of probation.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), through its Border Enforcement Security Task Force, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations investigated. The DOJ's Office of International Affairs assisted in securing the extradition.

Why it matters

The case involves a familiar pattern: an overseas caller, an advance fee to claim a prize, and a domestic network to receive the money. Each part of the network was prosecuted. The case also shows that foreign callers can be reached when they travel.

What this means for you

1. Never require advance payment of taxes or fees to release a prize.
2. Do not accept or forward consumer payments for third parties you have not vetted.
3. Watch for patterns of packages or wires from elderly consumers to the same addresses or accounts.
4. Report suspected lottery scam activity to law enforcement.

A real lottery prize does not come with a fee to collect it.