Eight Jamaicans accused of lottery scamming are being extradited to the United States today.A former policeman is among
the eight who were ordered extradited by Parish Judge Vaughn Smith in March following a hearing in which they sought to challenge the request made by the US Government.
The accused — ex-policeman Jason Jahalal, Alrick McLeod, Dahlia Hunter, O’Neil Brown, Xanu Ann Morgan, Dario Palmer, Karae Gray, and Kimberly Hudson — have each been indicted on one count of conspiracy and attempting to commit wire fraud, 48 counts of wire fraud, 15 counts of mail fraud, and one count of money laundering in the state of North Dakota in the United States.
They are alleged to be part of a criminal organisation, headed by Lavrick Willocks, which manifested in 2009 in Jamaica and elsewhere.
Authorities alleged that the sophisticated schemes that Willocks masterminded bilked more than 70 mostly elderly Americans out of more than US$5.6 million. He was initially charged in October 2012, but evaded the police until he was arrested in a hotel in Kingston in November last year. Authorities said they found more than US$10,000 in cash in his room, along with electronics and jewellery.
Willocks, who was extradited to the US in January, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering in US District Court in North Dakota.
