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| Image owner/credits: 123RF/Stock photo |
A retired
school teacher from Florida said Tuesday that she lost most of a US$100,000
inheritance in a Jamaican lottery fraud and was threatened by scammers who
never produced her prize of US$1 million and a Mercedes.
Lois Bronson, 84, of Hallandale, Florida, testified in
the trial of Sanjay Williams, 25, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, who's accused of
buying and selling lists of potential victims in a scheme that allegedly bilked
dozens of mostly elderly people out of retirement money. Williams, who has
pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, is the first
person to go to trial.
The federal trial is being held in North Dakota
because the first victim identified in the case is Edna Schmeets, an
86-year-old widow from Harvey. Schmeets on Monday quietly recounted how she
drained her savings account to pay the scammers, who authorities say asked
victims for more and more checks or wire transfers to cover taxes and fees for
purported winnings.
On Tuesday, an animated Bronson testified that she
spent all but US$10,000 of the money her 104-year mother left her when she died
before dipping into her retirement savings.
She also recalled becoming "very worried and
agitated" when one of the callers threatened her.
"One of them said, 'I know exactly where you
live,'" she testified. "I said, 'I'm not liking this conversation at
all.'"
Prosecutors displayed a photo of Bronson sitting on
her couch next to a stack of dozens of MoneyGram and Western Union receipts
from her wire transfers. She testified that at one point she went to the bank
and withdrew US$10,000 in US$100 bills she then stuffed into an envelope, placed
into a brown bag with a snap on it and delivered personally to Shannon O'Connor
at a Florida strip mall. O'Connor has pleaded guilty in the case.
Bronson reeled off the names of several people she
talked with over the course of the scam and said she never heard of Sanjay
Williams. She added that none of the people she talked with had Jamaican
accents.
Most of Tuesday's testimony involved FBI Special Agent
Frank Gasper, who described how Williams built lists of potential victims,
mostly elderly and vulnerable people, and sold them on websites with numerous
domain names. The most valuable names, Gasper said, were the people who
participated in sweepstakes or coupon offers. The going rate was US$5.50 per
name that was attached to a credit card or checking account, and US$4.50 per
name with no monetary information.
Stock is scheduled to cross-examine Gasper on
Wednesday.
Williams verbally lashed out at Stock on a couple of
occasions: when the lawyer failed to object to evidence and again when he told
Stock, "Stop. Hold on. Hold on. You can't say that." After dismissing
the jury for lunch, Hovland told Williams that jurors were watching him
intently and that he should either whisper to Stock or jot down his thoughts.
"If
you react and start speaking loudly, that doesn't bode well for you,"
Hovland said.
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