MIAMI – A Jamaican man plead guilty this week in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Justice Department announced today.
Damion Bryan Barrett, 28, was extradited from Jamaica in February for committing fraud as part of an international lottery scheme against elderly victims in the United States. The prosecution is part of the United States’ ongoing crackdown on fraudulent international lottery schemes, according to federal authorities.
“Scammers in foreign countries preying on elderly victims in the United States are not immune from prosecution in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case demonstrates that we will bring those responsible to justice, wherever they may seek to hide.”
Barrett will be sentenced in June. He is facing up to 30 years in prison, officials stated.
Barrett’s co-defendant, Oneike Barnett, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2014, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On April 29, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Barnett to serve five years in prison and five years of supervised release, and to pay $94,456 in restitution for his role in this case.
According to the indictment, beginning in October 2008, Barrett and his co-conspirators contacted victims in the United States announcing that the victims had won cash and prizes and persuaded the victims to send them thousands of dollars in fees to release the money.
The victims never received cash or prizes, officials said.
The defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly made calls from Jamaica using voice over internet protocol technology that allowed them to use a telephone number with a U.S. area code. According to the indictment, Barrett convinced victims to send money to middlemen in South Florida, who then forwarded the money to Jamaica, the indictment said.
On April 29, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Barnett to serve five years in prison and five years of supervised release, and to pay $94,456 in restitution for his role in this case.