A South Florida man has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for his role in a Jamaica-based lottery scam that preyed on elderly victims.
Prosecutors said Monday that the sentence was imposed by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale on 26-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev George Williams. He pleaded guilty in January to a wire fraud conspiracy charge.
Investigators say Williams was part of a fraud scheme in which victims were falsely told they had won a Jamaican lottery. To claim the prize, evidence shows victims were told they had to pay bogus taxes, duties and fees to Williams, who then forwarded them to associates in Jamaica.
Prosecutors say Williams was responsible for up to $400,000 in losses to victims.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
