Lottery Scam Fugitive Nabbed After Six Years on the Run

ST. LOUIS – Six years after being indicted, Christopher Gibbon, 54, is finally facing the music for his alleged involvement in a predatory Jamaican lottery scam. U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Gibbon’s arrest Wednesday, marking a significant, if belated, victory for investigators.

The case dates back to July 26, 2018, when Gibbon was initially charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. A December 2019 indictment followed, leveling one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, four counts of mail fraud, and one count of bank fraud against him. The indictment paints a picture of a calculated scheme targeting vulnerable individuals.

Between December 1, 2016, and July 2018, Gibbon allegedly participated in a network that contacted victims by phone and email, falsely informing them they’d won a lottery. The hook? Victims were told they needed to front money for taxes on their supposed winnings. Gibbon, prosecutors say, received payments from at least four victims – including a staggering $50,000 from a North Carolina resident sent directly to his address – and then funneled a portion of those funds to co-conspirators in Jamaica.

Gibbon didn’t stick around to face the charges. A motion filed seeking his pretrial detention reveals that just two days after being interviewed by U.S. Postal Inspectors in July 2018, he vanished. He told his wife he was going to work, but never arrived, nor did he return home. For years, he evaded capture, living under the alias Raseqhenre Heedram in Springfield, Massachusetts, even sporting a name tag identifying him as “Amos Johnson.”

The charade finally ended August 28, 2025, when Postal Inspectors apprehended Gibbon in Connecticut. He is now being held in jail pending trial, and a judge in Hartford, Connecticut, has ordered his transfer to St. Louis. Ruth Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, praised the relentless pursuit of the investigators. “This arrest proves the resolve and relentless pursuit Postal Inspectors have in bringing those who defraud victims to justice,” she stated.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service Jamaica Foreign Field Office, and the Connecticut Organized Financial Fraud Task Force. It’s a reminder that even years after the crime, the long arm of the law can reach those who prey on the vulnerable. Charges set forth in an indictment or a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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