Jamaican extradited to US on lottery scam charges
Published:Friday | October 18, 2024 | 8:31 AM
Jamaican Alando 'Tight Pants' Gentles was extradited to the United States (US) on Thursday to face criminal charges related to the deadly lottery scam.
He was handed over to authorities in South Carolina where he will face charges for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, a top American official confirmed.
Gentles is the fifth Jamaican extradited to the US this year on charges related to lottery scamming, according to Eric Shen, Inspector in charge of the Criminal Investigation Group at the US Postal Inspection Service.
“And we have one more pending this year,” Shen disclosed during an interview with The Gleaner at the United States Embassy in St Andrew yesterday.
The latest extradition comes amid what the US official said is the increased use of technology by Jamaican lottery scammers to reach more American victims and to collect their ill-gotten gains.
“Social media gives them more reach and they are able to reach out to more people and then when it comes to the movement of the funds, you are seeing more crypto currency being utilised,” he said.
- Livern Barrett
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