A 26-year-old Atlanta resident has pleaded guilty to his role in a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme.
Dominic Smith, a citizen of the United States, pleaded guilty in the Western District of North Carolina to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on April 26, 2022. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
According to court documents, Smith was charged in connection with a fraudulent lottery scheme based in Jamaica that induced elderly victims in the U.S. to send Smith thousands of dollars to cover purported fees for lottery winnings that victims had not won and never received. Smith acted as a middleman in the U.S., receiving money from victims via wire transfers, bank transfers, and mailings. Smith kept a portion of this victim money for his own benefit, and provided the rest to others participating in the scheme.
Schemes targeting Americans from other countries often cannot fully succeed without assistance from co-conspirators in the U.S. who are willing to help them rip off people in this country, said Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. These lottery scammers prey on older Americans, and convince them to send significant amounts of money based on false promises.
According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries. The IRS will continue to work with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to stop the flow of illegal proceeds across the U.S. border.
As part of his guilty plea, Smith acknowledged that, had the case gone to trial, the U.S. would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that, from December 2010 through at least April 2012, Smith was a member of a conspiracy that targeted victims in the United States by informing them that they had won cash and prizes in a lottery. Victims received a telephone call stating that they had won a sweepstakes or lottery and sometimes a new car. Victims were instructed to send thousands of dollars for “fees” or other expenses via wire transfers, direct bank transfers, and the mail in order to release their purported lottery winnings. Victims sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Smith in the U.S.
Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud with enhanced penalties for telemarketing. As part of his guilty plea, Smith acknowledged that, had the case gone to trial, the U.S. would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that, from December 2010 through at least April 2012, Smith was a member of a conspiracy that targeted victims in the United States by informing them that they had won cash and prizes in a lottery.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Director Jeffrey Steger and Trial Attorney Lauren Fascett of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio of the Western District of North Carolina.
This prosecution is part of the Justice Department’s effort working with federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica preying on American citizens.
Related Federal Cases
- Georgia Phillips, Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Texas 2024 · North Carolina
- James Johnson, Lottery Scam, Georgia 2023 · North Carolina
- R. Wayne Murphy, Smuggling Counterfeit Drugs, Georgia 2023 · Florida
- Javon Glen Britton, Hobbs Act Robbery, Georgia 2014 · Florida
- Mark C. Simpson, Child Support Fraud and Cocaine Distribution, Georgia 2009 · North Carolina
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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