An American man has been taken into custody in Pennsylvania, United States, in connection with a Jamaican lottery scam.
According to Yahoo News, the accused, 31-year-old Oshane Callam, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit obtaining property by trick or deception/con game and obstructing an officer.
The first offence is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of US$5,000 or both if Callam is found guilty.
Reports are that on December 17, the Marlow Police Department conducted extra patrol around a high school due to a threat of possible school shootings based on a TikTok challenge.
During the patrol, officers spotted Callam carrying a silver briefcase on the school campus, who told police he was delivering divorce documents.
A female identifying herself as his wife then appeared at the police department and told lawmen she didn’t know why he had the briefcase or ran. She told police she dropped Callam off in the area of the school and that he was a veteran.
The police conducted a records search which showed Callam nor his wife had any criminal history, investigations, traffic tickets, background checks, or military history affiliated with them.
The Marlow Police Department received a call from an elderly woman who said she believed they arrested a man who was supposed to bring her US$5 million. She told police she had won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. She identified herself and told police of her home, in the area of the high school.
The elderly woman showed the police call logs from an address in Jamaica when she won the sweepstakes. She added that she was instructed to mail US$10,500 because of owed taxes on the winnings and she did as instructed.
The woman told police she was on the phone with a man when the police arrested the individual identified as Callam and the person on the phone told her because of activity, they wouldn’t be able to deliver it.
During a search of the victim’s residence, police found US$13,000 in a cashier’s cheque and cash, which the woman said she was told she owed.
While lawmen spoke with the elderly, she received a phone call from someone with a Jamaican accent who asked a number of questions.
In an interview with Callam, police learned the other man, identified as Greg, was in Jamaica and they had met through a family member. He said he had never met ‘Greg’, and added that they received the briefcase from in front of a nail shop.
Callam’s bail was set at US$70,000, and his first preliminary hearing conference is to be held on March 2, 2022.
