MS Coast man pleads guilty in scam prosecutors say conned widow and others out of $300,000
A Jamaican national who lived in Gulfport pleaded guilty to a fraud charge in federal court on Wednesday in a scam that prosecutors say conned a widow and victims across the country out of $300,000.
Troy Smith, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. Middle District Court in Pennsylvania to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.
It is unclear what sentence Smith will face. His charge carries up to 20 years in prison, and foreign nationals who plead guilty to some crimes in the U.S. may be deported.
Smith’s plea came after federal prosecutors charged him and his wife, Michelle Greenwood, with posing as sweepstakes officials who convinced victims to send them thousands of dollars. Greenwood pleaded guilty to the same charge in April.
The Pennsylvania case centered on a 51-year-old widow who prosecutors said fell victim to the scam. A fraudster using a fake name and pretending to be a sweepstakes official told the widow in 2016 that she won a multi-million dollar cash prize and car, according to an indictment filed in December 2021.
The fraudster told the woman she had to pay taxes and fees to get the prize, the indictment said, so she sent money transfers, bank wires and cash to Smith, Greenwood and their many aliases, the indictment said.
The widow eventually tried to wire the couple 80 transfers that totaled $123,000, according to the indictment.
Smith and Greenwood went to Wal-Mart stores to collect the transfers under various fake names, court documents said. Those included: Romario Smith, Romario Leonardo, Leonardo Smith, Leonardo Romario, Troy Romario, Michelle Nichole and Nichole Greenwood.
The couple then sent 57 transfers that totaled $50,000 to multiple people in Jamaica, the indictment said.
Over several transfers, the widow sent $14,000 to Smith at Keesler Federal Credit Union in Biloxi and $90,000 to the fraudsters’ various Wells Fargo accounts, the indictment said. She also mailed four envelopes with cash to Smith in Mississippi.
The couple’s scam was typical of Jamaican fraudsters, court documents said. Those schemes often involve a fraudster who misleads a victim into sending up-front payments with the promise of larger payoffs down the road. Fraudsters in sweepstakes scams may call victims about fake prizes, then insist they pay fees disguised as taxes or customs to redeem the fake winnings.
Fraudsters in Jamaica also use “money mules” in the U.S. to collect the victim’s money and send it to Jamaica in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, court documents said.
In court documents after Smith’s arrest in 2022, a judge recommended detention in part because he said Smith evaded authorities who tried to arrest him, then spent the night in the woods and turned himself in the next day. Smith was later released and ordered to avoid all contact with his wife pending their sentencing.
