Authorities Arrest Woman They Say Helped Run Lottery Scam
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Federal authorities have arrested a woman they say helped the man convicted last month in North Dakota of running a Jamaica-based scam that bilked mostly elderly people around the country out of millions.
Melinda Bulgin was apprehended Tuesday in Rhode island, and charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and telemarketing fraud, court documents filed Thursday show.
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An initial court date has not been scheduled, but she has been ordered to appear in Bismarck no later than June 30.
Authorities say Bulgin, of Providence, handled money on behalf of Lavrick Willocks and Sanjay Williams, described as the leaders of two separate scamming operations based in Jamaica. Williams was convicted by a North Dakota jury after a 10-day trial and faces up to 40 years in prison. Willocks has been charged but not extradited to the United States.
Federal prosecutors did not respond to a request for comment. Bulgin’s court-appointed attorney, Mark Meyer, of Wahpeton, said he has talked to his client but had no further comment.
Jamaican lottery scams have been happening for years, but few cases of this magnitude have been prosecuted. The case began when an FBI agent from North Dakota interviewed a Harvey woman who said she lost close to $300,000 in the scam. The investigation led authorities to a married couple from South Dakota who had been scammed.
An FBI affidavit shows that an elderly person in Wisconsin was instructed to send cashier’s checks for nearly $34,000 to Bulgin, including two checks payable to Bulgin and one check payable to Bulgin’s mother. A person from Arizona allegedly wired Bulgin $25,000 after scammers said the money was needed to cover federal taxes for a $5 million prize.
Williams is one of more than 30 people charged in the case and the only one thus far to go to trial. Another defendant, Andrew Myrie, is scheduled for trial July 13 on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud. Myrie has pleaded not guilty.
