Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Jamaican man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for his role in defrauding a 76-year-old Lenoir City woman.
Department of Justice officials say 24-year-old Morice Armani Brown and other co-conspirators bilked the woman out of nearly $700,000 by convincing her to pay various fees and taxes to claim winnings from a bogus sweepstakes competition.
Court records reveal Brown and his accomplices reportedly travelled to Lenoir City to collect the money from the victim, splitting the proceeds between themselves and others.
Brown pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and was sentenced to serve 63 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to repay nearly $700,000 in restitution.
The charges were the result of an investigation by the Lenoir City Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
So far, Brown’s co-conspirators, Marklyn Antonio Forrester, Jamali Jermaine Ramsay, and Jahmarley Kiboki McFarlane were sentenced to 63 months, 36 months, and 57 months in prison, respectively. A fifth individual, Tessa Nicole Hines, is scheduled to be sentenced in October for her role in laundering money related to the scheme.
