Las Vegas woman, 80, pleads guilty in elder fraud scheme
An 80-year-old woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud after prosecutors say she organized a prize notice fraud scheme and defrauded thousands of consumers, many of whom were elderly, across the United States.
Barbara Trickle, of Las Vegas, and her co-conspirators, prepared and mailed “millions” of fraudulent prize notices that led victims to believe they had been selected to receive a large cash prize that they would receive if they paid a $20 to $50 fee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Trickle was the owner and operator of a printing and mailing business that produced the notice mailings for the scheme, and supervised the production of the mailings, the attorney’s office said.
No victim ever received a cash prize from Trickle or her co-conspirators. She used the scheme to steal more than $15 million from victims, prosecutors said.
The scheme operated from 2012 to February 2018 until the U.S. Postal Inspection Service executed multiple search warrants and the Justice Department obtained a court order to shut down the operation, according to the attorney’s office.
The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch urged people in the release to be aware of fraudulent lottery, prize notification, sweepstakes and other scams.
The department also encouraged anyone age 60 or older who has been a victim of financial fraud to contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to aggressively investigate mass-mailing schemes and other types of fraud to protect older Americans from financial exploitation and bring criminals to justice,” Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group said in the release.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.