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A woman from New York has reportedly admitted to duping elderly victims into thinking they won lottery or sweepstakes prizes and collecting “fees” to collect their winnings.
Fees to collect their big winnings
Fiona Lorraine Walters, 50, profited off of people, mostly older individuals, who were told they won a massive lottery jackpot or sweepstakes prize. They would have to pay “fees” to collect their prize.
However, there were no “winnings” to be paid, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
Prosecutors said the victims were contacted by “scammers” and convinced that they had lottery winnings that needed to be claimed, according to court documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee. Some of these victims were told they had won millions of dollars.
Over $300,000 was laundered from the victims
Walers and unidentified co-conspirators kept or transferred money they received from these victims through the lottery scheme, court documents state.
Prosecutors said Walters laundered more than $300,000 of the money stolen from the victims through her and her family's bank accounts. This was done between July 2016 and August 2020.
Once Walters had the money, officials said she spent it on “high-end” goods and travel and transferred some of the money to Jamaica as the victims were left with financial losses.
Pleading guilty
On July 11, Walters pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, authorities said.
In a statement, one of her attorneys, Grant Wille, said that:
Although Ms. Walters's role in the offense was relatively minor related to other conspirators, she is wholeheartedly and sincerely remorseful to the victims hurt by this conduct and grateful to the government for this opportunity to make amends.
A briefcase with fake winnings inside
One of the victims linked to Walters was an 81-year-old Arizona resident. In October 2018, an accused scammer told the victim they had won a fake $2.5 million sweepstakes prize, court records state.
The scammer solicited “fees” in order to release the “winnings” to the victim. The woman did make $80,000 in payments, but she never received the prize, according to the criminal complaint.
Officials said that between October 2018 and December 2018, Walters directly received $20,400 from the woman.
According to prosecutors, a locked briefcase was shipped to the woman's home on December 8, 2018. A “scammer” told the woman her $2.5 million was inside.
The woman was told that once she made several payments, she would be given the lock combination. However, if she tried to open the briefcase herself, an “ink bomb” would explode, authorities said.
The woman did report it to police and a deputy from Pima County “forced open the briefcase.” Once open, they discovered the case was filled with pamphlets and magazines and not money.
The guilty plea
Walters pleaded guilty to the money laundering charge. She is facing up to 20 years in prison, as well as a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the offense, whichever is greater, prosecutors said.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23.
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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