Man Swindled Out of $27K in Elaborate Mega Millions Scam: Police

HOLLY TOWNSHIP, MI — By the time Michigan State Police intervened Tuesday, a Holly Township man had already spent thousands of dollars to claim what he believed was a $450,000 prize in an elaborate Mega Millions Lottery scam, authorities said Wednesday.

The man’s hopes rose in early August when he got a call from someone claiming to represent Mega Millions and informing him he was a big winner of the $450,000 second-place prize in a recent drawing, according to a news release from Michigan State Police.

To claim it, he needed to send $920. His last payment was for $3,300 to a courier, who claimed to be at an airport with the winning check, which had been held up “for tax reasons,” according to the news release. By that time, he had already relieved his bank account of more than $27,000, police said.

Then, on Tuesday, the plot, as they say, thickened.

A person who claimed to be a lawyer called the man, said he knew he had paid a large amount of money to a fraudulent enterprise and that he would represent him for — wait for it — more money.

Fortunately for the man, a family member overheard the conversation and alerted the Michigan State Police, which provides police protection for Holly Township.

State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said there are multiple lessons for the public in the man’s experience.

First, you really can’t win if you don’t play. Second, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

“There are many scams floating around today. From the IRS or the police department having a warrant for your arrest attempting to get you to pay with a Green Dot card, to lottery winnings from a lottery you didn’t buy a ticket for,” Shaw said in the news release. “Remember if something doesn’t seem right, it isn’t.

“You will never have to pay money to receive lottery winnings and the police or IRS are not going to ask for a Green Dot card to be sent to a Third Party address.”

Anyone who has received similar calls is asked to contact Michigan State Police at 1-855-MICH-TIP.

Photo by adrigu via Flickr Commons