Deciphering the Lottery Scam Rings Fueling Violence in Jamaica

Last year’s shocking increase in Jamaica's homicide rate has refocused attention on lottery scams in the Caribbean island nation. But it is not a uniquely Jamaican problem, with well-organized lottery frauds operating throughout the Americas, costing the United States hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The total number of killings in Jamaica jumped to 1,192 in 2015, a 20 percent increase from the previous year with the majority believed to be gang-related. Authorities point to violence between lottery scam rings fighting over profits and valuable “lead” or contact lists as the major cause of the spike. This type of advance fee fraud usually targets elderly Americans but also fuels gang warfare in the origin country as rival scam rings compete for resources.

B.C. sends $70,000 to 91-year-old California woman scammed by locals

British Columbia's civil forfeiture office repaid $70,000 to a 91-year-old California woman who was tricked into giving away her life savings to a lottery scam. The office seized a Vancouver building that it identified as the headquarters of an alleged ring of international fraudsters. The property sold for almost $900,000. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said Wednesday repaying fraud victims is "normal practice" for the office. "That's been a long-established use of civil forfeiture funds," she said. "The fraud is established. The money is recovered. It is repaid back to the victims."

Negril woman killed in lotto scam-related shooting

West End Road, the hub of tourism in the resort town of Negril, Westmoreland, was rocked by gunfire on Monday night that left one woman dead and three other females injured in an incident believed to be linked to the illicit 'get-rich-quick' lottery scam. Dead is 18-year-old Ombretta Jackson of the Lime Tree Lane area of the community. The other three women, who have not been identified, are said to be nursing gunshot wounds in hospital.

According to reports, at approximately 8:45 p.m., the women were standing outside a shop in the community when two men alighted from a motorcycle and accosted Jackson. The men reportedly pulled guns and opened fire on her, hitting her multiple times. The other women were reportedly hit during the shooting.

Jamaican lottery scams often start as 876 calls

Jamaican lottery scams have been victimizing unwary Americans for more than ten years. It is estimated that Jamaican scam artists operating phony lotteries steal more than three hundred million dollars a year from Americans. Often it is the elderly who are targeted. Jamaican authorities have been attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to crack down on this crime for a few years, but American law enforcement, until now, has been stymied in trying to take legal action against the perpetrators of this type of fraud. But last week, Damion Bryan Barrett, who was indicted by an American federal court in 2012, became the first Jamaican citizen to be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges related to the Jamaican lottery scam. He has pleaded not guilty to 38 counts of fraud.