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How To Avoid Lottery, Prize Scams: You Didn’t Enter, But You 'Won'?
A surprise message says you hit the jackpot, but there’s a catch: you must pay a fee or hand over personal details to claim it.
That’s the hallmark of a lottery or prize scam—designed to separate you from your money and identity.
These schemes often arrive by email, text, phone, or mail and lean on pressure tactics to force quick decisions.
Scammers frequently demand “taxes,” “processing,” or “shipping” upfront, or ask for sensitive data to “verify” you.
Legitimate lotteries do not require payment to release a prize, and you should never be asked for your Social Security…
Big League Lie: Man Claimed MLB Career While Scamming Women, Dodging Sex Offender Registry: DOJ
He said he was going pro in baseball — but what he really went pro in was lying, scamming, and disappearing from the sex offender registry, prosecutors in Virginia say.
Now, he's going to prison.
A Roanoke man who told women he was a Major League Baseball prospect, forged six-figure checks, used burner phones to impersonate team officials, and failed to register as a sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year, federal officials announced.
Now, Janike Dunbar Holt — a man who goes by many names — has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
Holt, 29 — also known as…
Sex Offender Faked MLB Career, Scammed Women, Skipped Registry In Virginia: DOJ
He said he was going pro in baseball — but what he really went pro in was lying, scamming, and disappearing from the sex offender registry, prosecutors in Virginia say.
A Roanoke man who told women he was a Major League Baseball prospect, forged six-figure checks, used burner phones to impersonate team officials, and failed to register as a sex offender has pleaded guilty in federal court as part of an elaborate scheme, federal officials announced.
He went by many names while executing his scheme.
Janike Dunbar Holt, 29 — also known as “Nike,” “Janike Tagovailoa,” “Keanu Tagovailoa,” and “…
MA Duo's $387K Bank Scam Ends In Crash With Police Car, Cops Say
A months-long phone scam that tricked a Long Island woman out of nearly $400,000 ended in a dramatic crash and two Massachusetts men in handcuffs, police said.
Port Washington Police arrested Dominique Jones, 24, and Jean Saint Fort, 22, both of Chelsea, Massachusetts, following an undercover operation on Friday, May 2, in Greenvale.
Investigators determined that the pair called the victim in February, claiming to be a Chase Bank fraud department representative, Nassau County Police said. Over the next two months, they convinced her to withdraw large sums of money in response to supposed “s…
Man Conned 300 Mass Families To Pay For His Plastic Surgery, Vacations, Gambling: Feds
The only thing the kids who signed up for MB Sports Camps learned about baseball was how to steal — but not bases.
Mehdi Belhassan, 53, of Tampa, Fla., was convicted last week after a six-day trial of two counts of wire fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He was accused of stealing $380,000 from 303 families across the state and country and a $191,000 advance from an online payment company.
Belhassan ran the annual MB Sports Camps. In 2019, however, he collected parents' money like usual, but this time, ran away with it to pay for plastic surgery and "extravagant…
Scammer Sunk By Car Full Of Fools Gold In Central Mass Headed To Prison Then Deportation
A New Jersey scammer whose eyes were bigger than his brain when he tried to rob an Athol woman of more than $300,000 was sentenced on Wednesday, May 24, to a year in prison, after which he'll be deported, authorities said.
Gaurang Contractor, 38, a citizen of India living in Jersey City, NJ, tried to trick a Central Massachusetts woman into believing he was a DEA agent and she needed to convert her life savings into gold and give it to him for safekeeping, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Contractor contacted the woman in August 2022 using the alias of "Oscar White," a Dr…
Mass Contractor Who Stole $78K From Customers Indicted On Felony Charges
A paving contractor who allegedly stole over $78,000 from customers, including the disabled and elderly, has been indicted for a laundry list of criminal charges, according to court documents.
William Pusateri, owner of Priority 1 Paving in Dedham, was arraigned on 23 charges including larceny from disabled persons over 60 years old on Tuesday, Jan. 3, according to Middlesex Superior Court documents.
Pusateri, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, scammed customers from 2020 to May 2022 by taking deposits or payments in full for services that he never completed or only completed basi…
