J’can sentenced in Virginia for lottery scam

Harrisonburg, Virginia (AP) — A Jamaican citizen living in Virginia has been sentenced for his role in an international lottery scam.

Federal authorities say 32-year-old Carlos O’Brien Ricketts was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison. US District Judge Michael Urbanski also ordered Ricketts to pay $74,450 restitution to his victims.

A federal grand jury in Harrisonburg indicted Ricketts last November, and he pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Ricketts participated in a lottery scheme based in Jamaica that induced elderly victims to send thousands of dollars to cover fees for sweepstakes prizes that the victims really had not won.