A Las Vegas woman, Samaiyah Sharron Armistead, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with an international lottery fraud scheme, federal authorities announced.
Armistead, who currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Justice Department announced.
The money laundering was part of an international lottery fraud scheme involving co-conspirators in Florida and Jamaica. According to the indictment, Armistead received $7,500 in cash at the direction of a co-conspirator in February 2014 and deposited most of that money into two bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirator.
In addition, Armistead received $32,500 in cash on April 22, 2014, at a pickup point in Berlin, Maryland, where she was scheduled to meet a victim of a lottery scheme. However, Armistead was arrested by police at the pickup point after being handed the money by an undercover officer.
Armistead faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 when she is sentenced on December 22 at 2 p.m.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel William Pallozzi praised the efforts of law enforcement agencies in investigating and dismantling the complex and cross-border criminal enterprise.
The Justice Department is committed to combating international lottery fraud schemes, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. Conspiring to launder money is a serious crime because it hides other criminal activity and its success encourages fraudsters to continue their schemes. The Justice Department will continue to prosecute those who seek to conceal criminal activity through money laundering.
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Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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