Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MOBILE, AL – Four current and former residents of Baldwin County, Alabama were arrested today in Foley on criminal charges related to their alleged participation in a fraudulent lottery scam.
According to court documents, the defendants, all Jamaican nationals, received more than $200,000 in over 100 shipments of cash from victims across the country who had falsely been told that they had won a lottery. The victims, many of them elderly, had been directed to pay “taxes” on their lottery winnings by sending cash to fictitious names at addresses controlled by the defendants in Baldwin County. The following individuals were arrested on a criminal complaint charging them with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud:
Peter Walcott, Malik Chambers, Romario Nembhard, and Jermaine Smith.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama; and Special Agent in Charge Paul W. Brown of the Mobile Division of the FBI made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mobile Division, is investigating the case, with the assistance of the agencies participating in today’s enforcement action, including the FBI Baltimore Division, the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Patrol, the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Foley Police Department, the Gulf Shores Police Department, and the Silverhill Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Anderson and Kasee Heisterhagen are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.