Prison Sentence for Man Who Scammed $1 Million From Estes Park Woman
A man from Brooklyn perpetrated a scam that involved telling a woman that she'd won lottery money and a new car. He was one of two men on the job.
I hear of crimes like this and hope that when others hear of them, people reach out to family members to encourage them to be very, very careful to avoid being victimized like this woman.
It was one of those scams where the victim will get their "prize" once they fulfill payment of the "fees." The men had told her that she'd won $2.8 million and a car. So, from the start, it seems that she ignored the adage "If it sounds too good to be true..."
She ended up sending all sorts of cash, cell phones, and cashier's checks to the men; the man recently sentenced even showed up at her door in the middle of the night with a fake FBI ID, demanding more money, presumably telling her that the Federal government is now involved in receiving the fees, or that she'd broken some law regarding the 'lottery' and now the Feds need money to keep her out of prison.
According to CBS4 Denver, the two Jamaican nationals were able to get over $970,000 from the woman, before their scam came to an end in 2018, with one of them returning to Estes Park and getting apprehended by the police after they were once again found at the woman's doorstep.
The man sentenced recently received nine years in prison and will see three years of supervised probation after his release, as well as restitution, which he started paying immediately by turning over $484,000. The second man's case is still in process.
Again, it's another lesson in being vigilant about protecting yourself and helping family members protect themselves as well.
Get more on the case and sentencing from CBS4 Denver HERE.