Jahnoy Davis, Lottery Fraud, North Carolina 2017

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jahnoy Davis, 25, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his involvement in a Jamaican-based lottery fraud scheme, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney also sentenced Davis to two years of supervised release and ordered the defendant to pay $216,619 as restitution to 12 victims.

According to today’s sentencing hearing and documents filed in the case, from January 2015 to March 2016, Davis was part of a Jamaican-based lottery fraud scheme. Court records show that co-conspirators operating in call centers in Jamaica and elsewhere contacted victims and falsely told them they were the winners of sweepstakes and other prizes.

These victims were usually elderly and located throughout the United States. According to court records, the co-conspirators told the victims that they needed to pay various fees in order to claim the prizes and directed the victims to mail cash to co-conspirators, including to Davis.

Court records indicate that the cash frequently was concealed in a magazine inside the postal package. Davis recruited a number of individuals to receive packages and conspired with a U.S. Postal employee to divert packages from that employee’s route.

Davis pleaded guilty in January 2017 to one count of money laundering conspiracy. He will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

On April 3, 2017, Antonio Terrell Brown, a former Charlotte-area mail carrier, pleaded guilty to mail theft charges for his involvement the conspiracy. He is currently awaiting sentencing.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Charlotte, under the direction of Inspector in Charge David M. McGinnis, and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Area Special Agent in Charge Paul L. Bowman, for leading the investigation into Davis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelli Ferry, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

The victims were told they needed to pay various fees in order to claim the prizes and were directed to mail cash to co-conspirators, including to Davis. The cash frequently was concealed in a magazine inside the postal package.

Related Federal Cases