Jamaican man sentenced in Michigan court in $3.4 million nationwide fraud scheme

A Jamaican man was sentenced in a Michigan courtroom Friday on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in connection with a nationwide scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $3 million from 28 victims, according to the Department of Justice.

Court documents show Sefton Olivair Stewart, 41, was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Federal officials say he will be removed from the U.S. after he serves his sentence.

The scheme was carried out between October 2019 and September 2024, according to the federal agency, which said Stewart and others falsely told people in the U.S. that they had won large prizes in a multistate lottery.

"Victims were told they had to pay taxes and fees associated with their winnings before they could obtain their prizes," Stewart's plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan said. "None of these representations were true."

Federal officials said the people involved in running the scheme used fake bank and U.S. government documents to convince victims their promises were legitimate. According to the plea agreement, one of the victims was an elderly man who lived in western Michigan.

Stewart pleaded guilty to the charge in July, court records show.

"Fraudsters who prey on victims with false promises of life-changing prizes will be held accountable, regardless of where they operate," Homeland Security Investigations Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski said in a written statement.

A 37-year-old woman was previously sentenced to 37 months in prison in connection with the scheme after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.