KINGSTON, Jamaica — Sixteen people arrested for allegedly defrauding U.S. citizens will appear in court this month as Jamaican authorities take aim at lottery scam gangs that they blame for much of the island nation’s violent crime. They were arrested during a series of raids last week in western Jamaica during which authorities confiscated some $3,000 worth of Jamaican currency, computers, mobile telephones, and documents containing personal information of potential scam victims. The Jamaican scam rings generally prey on elderly people in the United States by coercing money from them after tricking victims into thinking they have won a lottery. U.S. officials have said the lottery scams bilk U.S. residents out of some $300 million annually. Jamaican authorities say clashes between rival scam gangs are behind many of the homicides and other violent crimes in Jamaica, including an October 2015 attack that killed six members of the same family.

Source: Washington Post September 03, 2016 20:26 UTC