A Rhode Island woman has been arraigned over a $10 million fraud scheme targeting the elderly and other vulnerable people.
Megan E. Shine, 47, of Warwick, is accused of using the U.S. Mail to carry out a fraud scheme that duped the elderly and other vulnerable people into sending payments.
The victims were usually charged between $20 and $30 dollars, using mailings that falsely led recipients to believe they were entitled to cash prizes or other valuable items.
Some victims say they were contacted many times and sent multiple payments.
The scheme was allegedly controlled through businesses Shine created and operated in Rhode Island.
These included Lucky Dog LLC, doing business as Premium Ops & Incentives, and Destiny Merchandise LLC, doing business as Independent Catalog Services.
Shine is accused of mailing victims with communications which led them to believe they had been personally selected.
They were led to believe they were entitled to claim a large amount of money in a lottery or entitled to receive a valuable item.
The recipients were urged to send money, usually by a deadline, to a post office box in Providence for the “processing” or “handling” of their purported winnings.
The communications were often on official-looking or certificate paper and frequently carried what appeared to be the seals of governments or government agencies.
“Mass mail fraud schemes defraud elderly and vulnerable consumers out of millions of dollars every year”
They frequently contained other language and details designed to make them appear official or legitimate, including bar codes, document control numbers, printing that appears to be rubber stamped, such as the phrase “authorized document,” highlighted text, bank-check style typeface and formatting, as well as identification and other codes.
In reality, all of the mailings were identical, apart from the name and address of the recipient.
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Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said:“Mass mail fraud schemes defraud elderly and vulnerable consumers out of millions of dollars every year.
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously pursuing all individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through these types of fraudulent schemes.”
The mails contained text and graphics that created a false overall impression the recipients were already winners of substantial awards, often totaling millions of dollars.
In reality, recipients had not won a prize.
Instead, according to the indictment, Shine sent victims a booklet containing publicly available sweepstakes rules or a small and inexpensive piece of jewelry.
Shine is charged with four counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
