ShareThree people have been indicted in a massive $15.5million sweepstake fraud that targeted vulnerable and elderly people in a mass mailing scheme in the US.
46-year-old Kimberly Stamps, of Gilbert, Arizona, 56-year-old John Kyle Muller, of Boulder, Colorado, and 78-year-old Barbara Trickle, , of Las Vegas have been charged by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas.
The trio face up to 20 years in prison as well as massive fines for their six-year-long fraudulent enterprises, which charged unsuspecting victims between $20 and $50 to process non-existent high-value prizes.
The indictment alleges that Stamps and Muller not only edited the fake prize-notice letters, but also collected and processed the payments from those taken in by the scam. Trickle was responsible for the actual mass-mailing part of the scheme, as well as data management to target certain victims repeatedly.
This was all done in breach of an earlier cease-and-desist deal between the US Postal Service (USPS) and the three scammers agreed in 2012, which “permanently barred Stamps and anyone working with her from mailing fraudulent prize notices.”
“Today’s indictment reflects the commitment of Postal Inspectors to protect older Americans from scams that prey on the vulnerable,” stated Inspector-in-Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group.
Shen added: “These individuals took advantage of the euphoria of winning a prize to bilk victims out of their money, when in fact they knew there was no prize waiting; all while violating a previous cease and desist order to stop their fraudulent behavior. Now they have been brought to justice for their crimes and will face their comeuppance for their illegal activity.”
The $21million Scratchcard Scam
A scam of a different kind saw three members of a Massachusetts family busted last year, after an 8-year-long lottery scratchcard ruse netted them $21million.
Father and sons, Ali, Mohamed, and Yousef Jaafar offered their services to winning ticketholders who wanted their winnings kept safe from taxes, debt, or child support payments.
The trio cashed 13,000 tickets over an 8-year period, having paid a discounted cash value to the winners to circumvent the state law that states any win over $600 must be vetted for the winner owing certain debts, such as outstanding taxes or child support.
Incredibly, in 2019, Ali Jaffar was the top ticket casher in Massachusetts, with Mohamed in 3rd spot and Yousef in 4th spot, with United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins stating: "That's not luck, it's fraud."
Despite pleading not guilty, Ali and Yousef were found guilty and will be sentenced in April, while Mohamed pled guilty and will be sentenced in March.
