J’can accused of scamming remanded in US court

A United States judge on Wednesday ordered a Jamaican man remanded pending trial in the Western District of Washington on December 22.

Roshard Andrew Carty, 34, was extradited to the United States, last month, to face four counts of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud.

Reports are that Carty was involved in a lottery scheme that cost an elderly victim more than US$800,000.

According to records filed in the case, Carty first contacted the 73-year-old victim in 2020.

Between August 2020 and February 2024, he persuaded the victim to send him US$800,000 as taxes, fees and other costs to claim a $22 million prize from Publishers Clearing House.

Carty allegedly convinced the victim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was recording the call and told her she was not to tell anyone about the big win.

The alleged scammer’s requests for cash started small and grew over time. He had the victim remove small amounts of cash from her accounts and send them to a US location via FedEx.

Carty told the victim the money was lost or stolen and demanded more. He also allegedly told the victim to borrow against her home so she could send more money.

The accused allegedly convinced the victim to sell her home to cover additional “costs and fees” to claim her prize.

In all, Carty allegedly stole more than US$800,000 from the victim by having her mail the money to various couriers in the US.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the Government of Jamaica to secure the arrest and extradition of Carty.