FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Four South Florida men were indicted Thursday in a sweepstakes fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Matthew Pisoni, 42, of Fort Lauderdale, Marcus Pradel, 39, of Boca Raton, John Leon, 47, of Wilton Manors, and Victor Ramirez, 35, of Aventura, were each charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering.
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The men face up to 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.
Ramirez is also charged with conspiracy to structure deposits, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, the men notified victims by mail that they had won a substantial prize in a sweepstakes.
The notification informed the recipients to pay a fee ranging from $20 to $50 to redeem their winnings. The victims were told to "pay in cash, or by check or money order made payable to fictitious companies that were controlled by the defendants or their co-conspirators," the indictment said.
Authorities said there were more than $100,000 victims in the U.S. and abroad who fell for the scheme.
According to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, the men collected more than $25 million from victims since at least 2010.
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