Prison sentence for phone lottory scammers

A win for the good guys, but looks like all the victims' money won't be recoverable.

From:
http://www.wftv.com/news/local/florida-reside ... derly/536537631

Florida residents headed to prison over Costa Rica sweepstakes scam targeting the elderly

by: Mike Manzoni Updated: Jun 20, 2017 - 11:19 PM

ORLANDO, Fla. - Four Florida residents are headed to prison after pleading guilty in connection with a sweepstakes scheme that bilked dozens of elderly people out of nearly $1.4 million.

The individuals perpetrated the scam by contacting elderly people across the U.S. and telling them they had won a prize in a sweepstakes, officials said.

“They falsely told the victims that they had to send money to pay various fees and taxes necessary to retrieve their prize,” court documents said.

They ran the scam with telemarketers at call centers in Costa Rica, investigators said.

One of the scammers was found to have flown from Orlando to Costa Rica at least six times to pay call center workers, court documents said.

The individuals opened accounts at several banks to deposit funds from victims, ultimately taking at least 57 people for almost $1.4 million.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely the victims will get much of their money back, even though their plea agreements require them to pay restitution, WFTV legal analyst Belvin Perry said.

“They may see part of (the stolen funds), but it is all dependent solely upon the individual’s ability to pay,” Perry said. “It is tantamount, if they don’t have any assets, to trying to get blood out of a turnip.

“The chances of recovering something are very unlikely.”

The victims, who were not identified in court documents, have a better chance of getting some of their money back because the scammers were charged in federal court because the feds can seize property, Perry said.

The four individuals previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The scammers were identified as:

Audrey Montserrate, 50, of Dania

Benancio Lopez, 53, of St. Cloud

Richard Ellis, 30, of Miami

Donald S. Sutliff, 42, of Kissimmee

I cannot for the life of me understand why the GOV does not run commercials for the elderly warning them to not give anyone money over the phone?  That it is a scam. A simple commercial like this could save many elderly's pocket books.

There are a multitude of scams that are highly publicized such as the IRS scam.  Just saw a reminder in my local paper a couple weeks ago.  Somehow people have no clue about them no matter how many times they are printed or broadcast.  Maybe a twitter campaign would be better because somehow everyone knows about this imaginary "yes" scam that no one has ever lost one penny in, yet they don't know about any of the other scams that people have obviously lost millions in.

I think TV would be the best bet, because elderly people don't go online that often but they watch TV.

Some TV stations have reported News Stories about the IRS Scam, but its simply not enough people who view them to be as effective as a Commercial that airs daily.

Agreed. They do however usually watch or listen to news.

Us old folks also read.  My small town newspaper sometimes publishes news about current scams.  I wonder if any of the churches publish warnings.  I might ask at my Library if they have a space on their bulletin board about scams.  There are a lot of retired people here. The other big targets are the poor and the poorly educated.

Meals on Wheels could distribute informational flyers about these scams.