A New York judge jailed two Israelis on Monday for orchestrating an elaborate international lottery scam that defrauded elderly Americans out of more than US$8 million (RM25 million) in life savings.
US district judge Loretta Preska sentenced Avi Ayache and Yaron Bar to 13 years and 12 years respectively after they pleaded guilty to four years of mail and wire fraud.
US prosecutors say the duo were ring leaders of a 12-person scam based in Israel, which tricked Americans into signing away more than US$8 million, which was squirreled away illegally to bank accounts in Cyprus, Israel and Uganda.
Top New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said it was a "predatory group" that conned elderly people in the United States into believing they were lottery winners.
"Preying on their victims' dreams of financial comfort, Ayache and Bar bilked them out of substantial portions of their life savings," Bharara said in a statement.
"Now Ayache and Bar will spend a substantial portion of their lives in prison," he added.
From 2005 through 2009, the defendants called US residents who played sweepstake lotteries, reading from a script to falsely say they had won a large cash prize.
But to obtain the prize they were told to pay thousands, sometimes tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and taxes, totaling more than US$8 million.
To pull the wool over their victims' eyes they invented the names of sham New York law firms, as well as aliases and call forwarding numbers to mask the fact that they were in Israel.
They even sent flowers and gift baskets to some of victims to "congratulate" them on their purported lottery winnings, a ploy to reel them in even further.
The judge also ordered Ayache and Bar to forfeit US$8.2 million (RM26 million) and pay restitution of US$8.2 million.
Eleven of the 12 defendants were arrested in Israel in July 2009, then extradited to the United States.
The 12th was arrested at Newark International Airport in New Jersey as he attempted to board a flight for Israel.
All 12 have pleaded guilty, US attorneys said.
Seven defendants have already received lesser terms and three more are to be sentenced in weeks to come.
AFP
Tue Jul 15 2014
Avi Ayache and Yaron Bar have been sentenced to 13 years and 12 years, respectively, after pleading guilty to four years of mail and wire fraud.
IShowSpeed tiba di KL, terima baju batik daripada peminat
Speed menerima hadiah daripada beberapa orang peminat Malaysia ketika kenderaannya berhenti di lampu isyarat di ibu negara pada Selasa,
Penyanyi Sean Diddy ditangakp di New York
Penerbit muzik terkenal, Puff Daddy atau lebih dikenali sebagai Sean Diddy Combs yang berdepan dengan beberapa tuduhan serangan seksual telah diberkas di Manhatann, New York oleh ejen persekutuan pada Isnin waktu tempatan.
10 maut, puluhan cedera bas Iran terbalik
Menurut angka awal, kemalangan itu mengakibatkan 10 maut dan 41 cedera.
Malaysia perlu melabur dalam infrastruktur
Pengarah Eksekutif Ukrainian Prism, Hennadiy Maksak berpandangan, Malaysia juga tidak boleh bergantung kepada satu laluan, selain menjalin hubungan yang baik dengan negara-negara jiran.
Lebih 1,000 rakyat termasuk pejuang Hezbollah cedera parah
Lebih seribu rakyat Lubnan termasuk anggota pejuang Hezbollah dan petugas perubatan cedera parah dalam satu letupan pada Selasa.
Tetingkap Tunggal Nasional memudahkan operasi perdagangan antara Malaysia dan China
Menteri Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Industri (MITI), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz berpendapat inisiatif Tetingkap Tunggal Nasional (National single window) yang bakal diharmonikan Bersama system kastam China akan memudahkan operasi perniagaan dan perdagangan (ease of doing business) antara Malaysia dan China.
Medan selera perlu ditambah baik, kemudahan asas tidak lengkap
Air bergenang di lantai dan tempias sehingga meja makan mengakibatkan pengunjung basah. Itu situasi apabila keadaan hujan lebat di Medan Selera Taman Makmur di dalam Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota yang menempatkan deretan 12 kedai makan.
Calon manfaat platform media sosial dekati pengundi luar
Kempen Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota turut memberi tumpuan kepada penggunaan media sosial bagi menambat hati pengundi luar selain kempen secara bersemuka.
Seorang wanita maut jatuh lubang saluran air
Seorang wanita maut selepas terjatuh ke dalam lubang saluran air sedalam dua meter ketika menyertai aktiviti mendaki di Bukit Cherok Tok Kun pada Selasa.
Kerja pembersihan sisa kimia dijalankan pada Selasa
Kerja-kerja pembersihan sisa bahan kimia yang dibuang secara haram di Kawasan Perindustrian Tiong Nam dan Kawasan Perindustrian Tropika, Johor bermula pada Selasa.