American jailed for selling lead sheets to Jamaican scammers

A court in the United States has sentenced an American man to more than 10 years in prison for selling personal information or lead sheets of more than seven million elderly US citizens to Jamaican scammers.

Troy Murray was sentenced to 121 months in prison and three years of supervised release for running a seven-year scheme where he victimised millions of elderly Americans by selling their personal information to Jamaican lottery fraud scammers.

He was also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of US$5.2 million.

According to court documents, Murray, 57, of Hickory, North Carolina, devised a scheme where he organised, maintained, and sold lists containing the names, phone numbers, physical addresses, and, in some cases, ages and email addresses, of elderly Americans to individuals in Jamaica involved in lottery fraud schemes.

From 2016 to 2023, Murray sold these lists to Jamaican scammers, who perpetrated lottery fraud on elderly American consumers, earning Murray hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

The convicted man was a prolific and well-known lead list broker for Jamaican scammers. To complete the transactions, scammers would typically call, email, or text Murray for a list of names. He would then provide a price per list, typically US$500, for 100 to 300 names.

Murray’s list broker service was so well known in Jamaica that his pseudonym, ‘Steve Dixon’, was referenced by a Jamaican musical artist in a 2022 song lyric.  

After receiving payment from the Jamaican scammers, Murray used the funds to purchase farm equipment, vehicles, and collectibles like bars and coins made of precious metals. Murray also sent money he made from the scheme to one of his sons to purchase personal property and pay for his business and living expenses.

During the scheme, Murray sent at least 22,000 lead lists to scammers. These lists contained the names and personal information of over seven million elderly Americans and garnered Murray over $5.2 million. Victim losses exceeded $9.5 million.

In January 2026, Murray pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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