Jamaica News, February 24, 2018 – North Dakota Lottery Scam:
Kinston, Jamaica (Mckoy’s News) — Police have captured the last person in the Lavrick Willocks’, St James – North Dakota lottery scam operation. 29-year old Gareth Billings, a resident of Greenwood district, St James was captured in Kingston, after two years on the run.
Gareth Billings, who last resided at a Tortuga Drive address in the parish of St James, was captured during a police sting operation at a Manning’s Road address in the capital parish of Kingston, on Friday, February 23.
Billings is wanted in the State of State of North Dakota, United States of America for Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, Money Laundering Conspiracy, Conspiracy and Attempting to Commit Wire Fraud.
Billings capture comes after two years of being a fugitive wanted man for his involvement in the Lavrick Willocks lottery scam ring.The Jamaica – Noth Dakota scamming operation is reported to have defrauded US citizens of over US $5.7 million.
North Dakota Lottery Scam: Police report that Billings is the last of a group of 14 persons in the ring, many of whom were extradited and sentenced in North Dakota, USA, including the mastermind of the scamming operation Lavrick Willocks, who cooperated with authorities for a lighter sentence. Willocks mother and girlfriend who also took plea deals and a Jamaican police corporal were sentenced in the US.
Lavrick Willocks who is US-educated with a bachelor’s, return to Jamaica and formed the lottery scam organization, according to him, in a bid to help his mother out of her financial woes.
Reports by the Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), are that about 7:35 p.m., the Fugitive Apprehension Team carried out an operation at a location on Mannings Road, in the Smokey Vale community.
The lottery scam ring crumpled when the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and in collaboration with the United States Postal Inspector Service began investigating the trail of the crime after a victim made a report to the FBI in 2012.
Billings will join the 12th person who was recently arrested and is facing extradition to the US, to stand trial.