Cochran man faces federal charges in alleged Jamaican lottery scheme

For several months in 2012, a Cochran man allegedly perpetrated a Jamaican lottery scheme, taking nearly $100,000 from elderly victims.

Elvert McNair, 50, was indicted by a federal grand jury Nov. 18 on three counts of mail fraud, according to the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

According to the indictment:

Each of the victims was contacted by phone and told they'd won money and vehicles from a lottery, but that they had to pay fees and taxes associated with claiming the prizes.

The victims then sent money to McNair and to other people who are not named in the indictment.

McNair is accused of depositing the money into his bank accounts, keeping a portion and sending the rest to various people in Jamaica.

Bank records purportedly show McNair received $95,200.

One victim, identified by initials only, wrote seven checks between February and April 2012 totaling $46,500. Another wrote a check in January 2012 for $20,000.

A third person wrote three checks in June 2012 totalling $28,700.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Cochran man faces federal charges in alleged Jamaican lottery scheme ."