Jamaican Man Conspired To Rip Off Elderly Through 'Sweepstakes Scam,' Feds Say

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Jamaican man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiring to rip off the elderly through a "sweepstakes scam," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Owen Demoy Byfield, 33, pleaded to mail fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a media release.

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Byfield, a citizen of Jamaica residing in Georgia, and his co-conspirators "operated a 'sweepstakes scam' that falsely informed victims that they had randomly been entered into a raffle and subsequently won millions of dollars," according to the release.

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"Victims throughout the United States, including Rhode Island, were contacted through the mail, carriers such as UPS and FedEx, phone calls, text messages, and other wire communications and directed to call a purported 'prize representative,'" the release said.

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"The scammers then used fictitious names to induce victims to send money, valuable property or provide access to their financial accounts," according to the release. "The alleged purpose of these payments was for various fraudulent reasons, including to pay taxes on their winnings, shipping costs, or even to refuse the winnings and be removed from the so-called list of winners of the sweepstakes scam."

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Byfeld once used $171,635.00 of the ill-gotten gains for a down payment on a residence in Georgia, according to the release.

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