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Phony telemarketer targets mostly older people to swindle $850K in SC scheme, feds say

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A man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday in a telemarketing fraud scheme out of South Carolina that targeted mostly “elderly victims,” federal officials said.

Antonio Thelwell, 30, pleaded guilty in a “wire fraud” conspiracy that federal officials say started in 2010 and scammed nearly $850,000 from more than “150 mostly elderly victims,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The conspiracy operated out of South Carolina but victims lived throughout the country, Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Shoemake told McClatchy News on Wednesday.

Thelwell and other conspirators told elderly individuals they had won a “bogus” sweepstakes but, to claim their prizes, needed to pay taxes and fees, the release says. They then convinced victims to wire them “significant amounts of money.”

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Scammers would also send letters made to appear to be from government officials telling victims their payments were received, feds say.

The conspiracy swindled more than $839,000 — $124,000 of which feds say Thelwell was “directly involved” in scamming from victims.

Thelwell was one of 18 defendants feds say were involved in the scheme.

“Not only did Thelwell contact victims directly, but he also recruited other individuals to contact victims, receive money from those victims and wire the illegally obtained funds to him in Jamaica,” the release says.

Thelwell, who feds say is a “native of Jamaica,” is sentenced to more than three years in federal prison and will be extradited to the United States.

His 38-month prison sentence will be followed by three years of “court-ordered supervision,” the release says.