Scammers Sentenced To Federal Prison For $600,000 Lottery Fraud

PROVIDENCE, RI — Two people convicted of defrauding people of hundreds of thousands of dollars in several states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts, through a lottery scam were sentenced to federal prison this week.

Jason Wedderburn, 41, and Kayan Kitson, 38, both Jamaican nationals, were behind the scam going back to May 2018. Victims were contacted to say they had won a lottery, but had to win a fee to collect their prize, the Department of Justice said. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in July.

The victims were told that they won prizes ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to over $1 million, but that they had to pay "up-front fees" to collect their winnings, to cover processing fees and taxes, Acting United States Attorney Richard Myrus's office said.

To pay the "fees," victims were instructed to mail checks or money orders to Wedderburn, Kitson, or another person, or were given instructions to direct deposit money into an account run by the scammers. These payments ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Myrus' office said. Some victims were told they had to make several payments.

None of the victims were ever actually paid any winnings. The scammers stole more than $325,000 from one person in Massachusetts, court documents showed, part of more than $600,000 stolen in total. Most of the victims were elderly.

Wedderburn was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Kayan was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, also followed by three years of supervised release.