Maryland Man Sentenced To Prison For Scamming Elderly
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for scamming dozens of elderly people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by convincing them that they needed to pay taxes or fees to collect lottery or sweepstakes prizes.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Monday sentenced 23-year-old Onijah Crighton of Chillum to 57 months in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $400,000 in restitution.
United States Attorney Robert Hur's office says one of the victims of Crighton's "advance fee scheme" was an elderly Virginia man with Parkinson's disease. A court filing says the man sent 44 payments totaling approximately $112,000 to Crighton and a co-conspirator after they falsely told him that he was the winner of a $2.5 million sweepstakes prize.
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