Canadian Lottery Scammer Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison
Dillon Sherif, a telemarketer from Vancouver, was sentenced to fourteen years in a US prison after he was found guilty of lottery fraud.
Most of Sherif's victims were elderly people who fell for his ploys, and he managed to defraud them out of nearly $2 million.
The BC man, an Iraqi citizen, had already been involved in a Canadian lottery scam in 1998, and had been banned from selling lottery tickets by a Seattle judge.
In the previous scam, he defrauded nearly 3,000 Americans out of $5 million.
The current international lottery scam managed to lure elderly victims to the scheme promising them huge wins.
He was caught in the UK and extradited to the United States last year, and in June 2010, he pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud against the elderly.
Sherif operated under the guise of a telemarketing company called Power Ball Services, trapping victims with tales of winnings. They were told that they would need to pay taxes and fees on their 'wins'.
Many victims fell prey to the scheme and sent in their money.
One 96 year old woman gave a written statement, describing how Sherif had convinced her to sell her house and hand over the money.
As a result, she was left homeless, unable to pay for medical care and completely broke.
The judge also ordered Sherif to pay his victims nearly $1 million in compensation
