On February 1st, a United States federal grand jury brought charges against a Jamaican man and a woman, implicating them in an elder fraud conspiracy.
A 28-year-old Jamaican national, Monique C. Clarke, who went by names Monique Clark-Mootoo, Rebecca White, and Mark Hilton, along with Jon-Michael Hudson, aged 33, a resident of Jamaica, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering in federal court.
The indictment alleges their involvement in a criminal scheme that targeted 51 elderly victims across the United States, resulting in a staggering loss exceeding $6.6 million.
According to court documents and statements from hearings, Clarke and Hudson are accused of laundering proceeds from a fraudulent enterprise that preyed on elderly individuals from October 2020 to January 2021.
The scheme purportedly involved a lottery scam, where members of the criminal network contacted elderly victims, falsely claiming they had won substantial lottery prizes. Victims were then coerced into paying various fees, such as shipping, taxes, insurance, and customs processing, to collect their purported winnings.
These funds were typically sent via personal or cashier’s checks to third-party individuals, known as money mules, who facilitated the movement of fraudulently obtained money. The illicitly acquired funds were later deposited into bank accounts, withdrawn as cash, and dispatched to Clarke and other co-conspirators via courier services.
Victims’ money used to buy high-end vehicle
Court documents allege that Clarke received over $500,000 from the proceeds of five victims’ losses, a portion of which was deposited into her bank accounts. Subsequently, Clarke purportedly wired $150,000 to a Jamaican car dealer’s bank account for the purchase of a 2020 AMG GT 63 S Coupe Mercedes Benz.
On February 14th, the Jamaicans made their initial appearances in federal court, with Hudson undergoing a detention hearing on February 20th. Clarke’s detention hearing was adjourned until February 23rd.
If convicted, both Clarke and Hudson could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, with the actual sentence to be determined by a federal district court judge, taking into account various factors including the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The announcement of these developments was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami.
US government to crack down on lottery scamming
The Biden administration has ramped up its efforts to tackle lottery scams originating from Jamaica. These scams, which predominantly target elderly citizens in the United States, are fueled in part by the proliferation of illegal firearms in Jamaica.
Taking a multi-faceted approach, the initiative involves close cooperation between Jamaican authorities and American security agencies. Their joint efforts aim to root out lottery scams, which have been preying on American seniors for more than a decade.
Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, has underscored the intricate nature of these scams. She highlighted how they function within a larger criminal network, generating an estimated billion dollars in illicit revenues annually. This substantial influx of cash not only fuels the lottery scam industry but also contributes significantly to the demand for and availability of illegal weapons in Jamaica.
By targeting lottery scams, the administration hopes to disrupt the flow of funds into criminal enterprises and, in turn, reduce the broader crime rates in Jamaica.
