Connecticut Sweepstakes Scam Case Ends With 46-Month Federal Prison Term

HARTFORD, CT — A Jamaican citizen living in Georgia has been sentenced in Hartford to 46 months in federal prison for operating a sweepstakes scam that defrauded victims in several states, including Connecticut.

David X. Sullivan, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Jimmy Smith, 31, of Hinesville, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala. According to the announcement, Smith was sentenced for operating a sweepstakes scam. Court documents and statements made in court describe a scheme in which participants called victims and falsely told them they had won large sums of money.

According to court documents and statements made in court, victims were told they needed to pay fees or taxes to claim their winnings. They were instructed to send money through the mail to addresses controlled by scam participants or to send money through wires to bank accounts. Prosecutors said Smith and others defrauded at least four victims in Connecticut, New York, Texas and California by telling them they had won a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes and needed to pay taxes or money to claim the prize.

The case included a Connecticut victim who, in July 2022, was told by telephone that she had won a $2.5 million sweepstakes prize and needed to pay taxes to collect it, according to court documents and statements made in court. In August 2022, that victim mailed a $75,000 check payable to Keshelski & K Transport to an address in Brooklyn, New York. The money was deposited into an account in the name of Keshelski&K Transports LLC, an account controlled by co-conspirator Keshelski Bates, according to the announcement.

Prosecutors said Smith recruited others to use their bank accounts to deposit money mailed by scam victims. According to the announcement, Smith’s co-conspirators then withdrew cash and gave it to Smith, or sent him money through bank transfer applications. The announcement also said Smith participated in a separate scheme that defrauded an Arkansas resident who believed he was paying for farm equipment.

Victims lost more than $2.6 million through the schemes, according to the announcement. Smith was arrested on March 17, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2025, to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He is released on bond and on electronic monitoring, and must report to prison on Aug. 24.

Bates has pleaded guilty to the same charge and awaits sentencing.