BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Federal officials said a man who scammed an elderly man of $1.2 million in a fake lottery scheme has been sentenced to 71 months in prison.
Stieve Fernandez, 35, was sentenced in Bridgeport to 71 months of imprisonment for operating lottery scams that defrauded victims of more than $1.8 million, including an elderly Connecticut victim who lost nearly $1.2 million.
Officials said in a lottery type scam, a perpetrator fraudulently convinces a victim that the victim has won a lottery or sweepstakes, and needs to make certain payments before collecting the winnings.
Between 2015 to 2018, Fernandez and others, including Minique Morris and Horace Crooks, defrauded an elderly Mystic resident in a lottery scam. Fernandez spoke to the victim on the telephone and used various pseudonyms, including “Damian Jackson,” “Jesse Jackson,” and “Huckleberry Finn.”
During the phone calls, Fernandez told the victim he had won a lottery or sweepstakes and was required to pay fees purportedly to cover taxes, insurance, handling and other charges related to the winnings. Fernandez directed the victim to pay fees in various ways, including by mailing checks and money orders to Morris in Brampton, Ontario, and Crooks in Orlando, Florida; wiring funds to bank accounts controlled by Morris and Crooks; and purchasing and sending precious metals products Crooks and other co-conspirators. Fernandez instructed his co-conspirators how to transfer or deliver the fraud proceeds to him in Argentina or Jamaica, where Fernandez resided.
Through this scheme, the victim was defrauded of $1,196,207. The judge ordered Fernandez to pay restitution in that amount.
On October 16, 2018, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Fernandez, Morris and Crooks with conspiracy and fraud offenses. Fernandez was arrested in Jamaica on May 9, 2019, and was subsequently extradited to the United States. He has been detained since his arrest.
After Fernandez and his co-conspirators were charged in the case, further investigation revealed that Fernandez participated in similar lottery frauds against four additional victims, defrauding them of $684,500.
On February 3, 2021, Fernandez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
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