Man sentenced in US for lottery scamming linked to Jamaica

A United States District judge has sentenced a 35-year-old man to 71 months imprisonment for operating lottery scams that defrauded victims of more than US$1.8 million.

An elderly Connecticut victim alone lost nearly US$1.2 million.

Prosecutors say Stevie Fernandez instructed his co-conspirators how to transfer or deliver the fraudulent proceeds to him in Argentina or Jamaica, where he lived.

In a lottery scam, a perpetrator fraudulently convinces the victim that he or she has won a lottery or sweepstakes and needs to make certain payments before collecting the winnings.

According to court documents between approximately 2015 to 2018, Fernandez and others, including Minique Morris and Horace Crooks, defrauded an elderly Mystic resident in a lottery scam. 

As part of their scheme, Fernandez spoke to the victim on the telephone and used various pseudonyms, including 'Damian Jackson', 'Jesse Jackson,' and 'Huckleberry Finn'.

During the phone calls, Fernandez falsely claimed that the victim had won a lottery or sweepstakes and was required to pay fees purportedly to cover taxes, insurance, handling and other charges related to the winnings. 

Fernandez directed the victim to pay fees in various ways, including by mailing checks and money orders to Morris in Brampton, Ontario, and Crooks in Orlando, Florida; wiring funds to bank accounts controlled by Morris and Crooks; and purchasing and sending precious metals products Crooks and other co-conspirators. 

The judge has ordered Fernandez to pay $1,196,207 restitution in that amount.

On October 16, 2018, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Fernandez, Morris and Crooks with conspiracy and fraud offenses.  Fernandez was arrested in Jamaica on May 9, 2019, and was subsequently extradited to the United States.  He has been detained since his arrest.

After Fernandez and his co-conspirators were charged in the case, further investigation revealed that Fernandez participated in similar lottery frauds against four additional victims, defrauding them of $684,500.

On February 3, 2021, Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Morris and Crooks pleaded guilty to the same charge.  On June 28, 2021, Crooks was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, and ordered to pay US$1,196,207 in restitution. 

Morris is awaiting sentencing.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service's Jamaica Foreign Field Office, the Jamaica Lottery Scam Task Force, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

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