Three Jamaican men from Montego Bay and two South Florida residents were among a group of fraudsters recently arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $3 million from mostly elderly Americans in an elaborate fraud scheme.
A group of seven individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced last week.
The charges stem from the Department of Justice’s wide-ranging efforts to protect older adults from fraud and financial exploitation.
Defendants, Jason Plummer, 31; Troy Williams, 38; and Tajay Singh, 26, each of Montego Bay, Jamaica, were each named in separate, two-count indictments.
A fourth two-count indictment named defendants Tashane Murray, 30, of Miramar, Florida; Clevon McKenzie, 31, of Mount Vernon, New York; Gyzzell Byfield, 27, of Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Daneil Reid, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Murray, McKenzie, Byfield, and Reid were arrested in the United States on November 16, 2023. Plummer and Singh were arrested in Jamaica on December 13, 2023. Williams was arrested in Jamaica on December 14, 2023.
A $2.8 million fraud scheme
According to the indictments, the defendants executed a scheme to defraud that stole more than $2.8 million from the elderly and vulnerable victims in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the United States.
As part of that scheme, conspirators contacted the victims and falsely told them that they had won a million or multi-million-dollar sweepstakes, but needed to pay certain taxes and fees before they could claim their prize.
Williams, Plummer, Singh, Murray, and McKenzie all targeted victims in one or more of those ways. The conspirators then directed the victims to send money, including cash, checks, and money orders, to people designated by the conspirators.
Some of these people were victims of the lottery scam, who had been unwittingly fooled into accepting and moving money on behalf of the members of the conspiracy. Others, like Byfield and Reid, were members of the conspiracy themselves.
After being laundered through a network of bank accounts and money mules, victim money was withdrawn by members of the conspiracy living in Jamaica.
“Those charged targeted and took advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our society,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall.
“This was a wide-reaching conspiracy that cost victims millions of dollars. Unfortunately, it’s a crime that is increasing every year, and Pennsylvania remains one of top states in the country that is impacted. The FBI is dedicated to stopping crime groups abroad and here at home who exploit our seniors with financial fraud schemes.”
