KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Jamaican man has been sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud an elderly woman from Lenoir City, according to a release from the United States Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, Morice Armani Brown, 24, was sentenced to 63 months in prison by a Knoxville judge on Wednesday. At the time, Morice Armani Brown lived in Florida and the department said he is a Jamaican national.
Prosecutors said Brown pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud a 76-year-old Lenoir City woman out of nearly $700,000 by tricking her into believing she had won millions of dollars in a sweepstakes competition through the mail.
Brown and the other conspirators convinced the woman to pay various taxes and fees to claim the winnings and traveled to Lenoir City to collect the funds from her. They then split the money between themselves and others, prosecutors said.
"Following his imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for a period of one year, the DOJ said. "The defendant was also ordered to repay nearly $700,000 in restitution to the victim in this case."
As part of the plea agreement, Brown pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Brown's co-conspirators included Marklyn Antonia Forrester, Jamali Jermaine Ramsay and Jahmarley Kiboki McFarlane. They were sentenced to 63 months, 36 months and 57 months in prison, respectively.
"A fifth individual, Tessa Nicole Hines, is scheduled to be sentenced in October 2024, for her role in laundering money related to this scheme," the DOJ said.
