Crime & Safety
North Dakota Lottery Scam: Alleged Mastermind Takes Plea Deal
Authorities began investigating in 2012 after a Harvey woman lost her life savings of more than $300,000 to scam artists the previous year.
BISMARCK, ND — A Jamaican man has accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors in North Dakota in a lottery scam that bilked at least 90 predominately elderly Americans out of nearly $6 million.
Under the deal Friday, Lavrick Willocks will plead guilty to a conspiracy count and 65 other counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering will be dismissed.
Willocks was the brains behind the scam, authorities said. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
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Defense attorney Joe A. Johnson didn't immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on why Willocks won't to take the case to trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Hochhalter was not in the office and not immediately available to comment. Court documents said "the United States was willing to offer certain terms favorable to defendant in exchange for finality" in the case, which has continued for more than five years.
A change-of-plea hearing and sentencing wasn't yet scheduled.
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Willocks will face up to 40 years in prison, though prosecutors said in court documents they will recommend a shorter term in return for Willocks' admission of guilt. They did not list a specific recommendation.
The government also will recommend Willocks pay restitution.
Fifteen people are charged. Ten suspects were extradited to North Dakota and pleaded not guilty, with trial scheduled to begin Jan. 22, 2018. Court documents don't say whether Willocks has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, or whether plea deals might be in the works for them, as well.
Two of the remaining five suspects are detained in Jamaica awaiting extradition. Three remain fugitives.
The case began in North Dakota in 2012 when authorities started investigating after a Harvey woman lost her life savings of more than $300,000 to scam artists the previous year. The probe involved the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs. Authorities have dubbed the case "Operation Hard Copy," a reference to lists of prospective victims' contact information used by scammers.
By Blake Nicholson, Associated Press
Photos credit: Burleigh County Sheriff's Department via AP