PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh woman has been charged for her role in cheating senior citizens throughout the country out of nearly $300,000 in a Jamaican lottery scam.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Wednesday announced the arrest of 72-year-old Audrey Huff.
Shapiro said Huff’s victims thought they were paying taxes on their winnings in the lottery, but their money was instead being routed to scam artists in Jamaica.
Huff acted as the middle-woman in the scam. She collected the money through the mail and made nearly 300 wire transfers, totaling $295,000, to her co-conspirator in Jamaica, according to investigators.
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“Audrey Huff was the money mule in this Jamaican lottery scam,” Shapiro said. “She broke the cash down into smaller amounts and wired it to her fellow scammers in Jamaica.”
Huff would allegedly call the victims and congratulate them on winning the Jamaican lottery, and then demand the wire transfer to prepay taxes.
The scheme lasted nearly a decade, and officials said that in 2013, state and federal investigators repeatedly warned Huff not to take part in the scam. She ignored those warnings, police said.
When Huff was arrested, one victim’s debit card was found on her, police said.
An elderly victim who lives in Boston said, "I sent $20,000 down to Pittsburgh to Audrey Huff," the woman said. "I wanted to surprise my family because I won this money."
Now, the 90-year-old woman said she has no money to pay her bills or buy food because she fell victim to the scheme.
"My family is mad at me. I feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for my family," she said.
The woman said she has a message for everyone involved.
"If I had these people in front of me, and if I had a gun, I'd shoot them one-by-one," she said. "She (Audrey Huff) is in the jail and I hope she stays in the jail for the rest of her life."
Huff is charged with conspiracy to commit theft, theft by deception, corrupt organization and criminal conspiracy.
Several law enforcement agencies are working to determine who else is involved. Officials said getting the money back for the victims could be a challenge, since most of the money is already out of the country.
Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.
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