WASHINGTON, United States — A South Florida man has pleaded guilty for his role in a Jamaica-based fraudulent lottery scheme.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday reported that the man, 49-year-old Claude Shaw, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of mail fraud.

He was charged in connection with the fraudulent lottery scheme, under which he induced victims in the US to send him more than US$100,000 to cover purported fees for lottery winnings that they had not won and never received.  

As part of his guilty plea, Shaw agreed that if this case proceeded to trial, the US would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that, from about September 2013, through to August 20l5 or thereabout, he participated in a scheme to defraud citizens and unlawfully enrich himself.

Victims throughout the US, according to DOJ, received telephone calls in which they were falsely informed that they had won over a million dollars in a lottery and needed to pay money in advance to claim their winnings.

As part of the scheme, they were instructed to send money to Shaw, who then forwarded a portion of the funds to Jamaica, said the DOJ.

He is to be sentenced on May 31.