Global scheme defrauded millions with phony promises of cash prizes
Federal officials on Thursday announced criminal charges and other enforcement actions against a global network of mass mailing fraud schemes that defrauded millions of Americans out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The mail schemes involve a complex web of actors around the world that craft letters falsely claiming the recipient had won, or would soon win, cash or other valuable prizes, for which they needed to send a small amount of money to cover a processing fee or taxes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Every year, fraudulent mail schemes target millions of Americans with false promises of wealth and riches, swindling hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “We are committed to protecting our people from exploitation – especially our older citizens, who are so often the focus of these shameful ruses.”
The actions included a federal case filed in California by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against three men accused of mailing hundreds of thousands of phony cash prize notifications since at least 2013.
The mailings informed mostly elderly consumers they’d won a cash prize of nearly $1 million or more -- for a fee of about $25 -- but those who paid received nothing in return.
“In the 21st century, the scam in your mailbox just as likely comes from the other side of the world as from the other side of town,” said Director Jessica Rich of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Authorities moved to shut down entities that work with direct mailers in carrying out fraud, including an India-based printer that manufactured the solicitations and arranged for bulk shipments to the U.S., and a Canadian payment processor that for more than 20 years helped dozens of international fraudsters gain access to U.S. banks to take money from victims.
The actions, taken in coordination with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), are part of a broader effort by the U.S. and law enforcement officials in Canada, France, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Turkey, said the DOJ.