Eight J'cans on lottery scamming charges to be extradited

Eight Jamaicans, including a police constable, who are accused of being part of a lottery scam network that fleeced scores of elderly American citizens out of US$5.6 million or nearly J$500 million, are to be extradited to the United States today, law enforcement officials have revealed.

According to one Jamaican law enforcement official, the five men and three women are to be handed over to US authorities at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

66-count indictment

The eight, police constable Jason Jahalal, Alrick McLeod, O'neil Brown, Dario Palmer, Kazrae Gray, Kimberly Hudson, Xanu-Ann Morgan, and Dahlia Hunter are facing a 66-count indictment in the state of North Dakota. They are each charged with one count of conspiracy and attempting to commit wire fraud, 48 counts of wire fraud, 15 counts of mail fraud, and one count of money laundering.

Prosecutors in North Dakota have charged that they were part of a criminal organisation, led by another Jamaican identified as Lavrick Willocks who used an advance fee or lottery scam scheme, to fleece 80 elderly victims of approximately US$5.6 million.

Willocks was apprehended last November in the garden at a Kingston hotel and extradited to the US in January after waiving his right to a hearing.