Big Sweepstakes Scam Artists Don't Cry

According to the Edmonton Sun newspaper, Nigerian-born Richard Mmah Chukwu, a resident of Edmonton,  was recently convicted of implementing a multi-million dollar sweepstakes scam. Chukwu was found guilty in the Canadian Provincial Court in Edmonton of using the mail to defraud and laundering the money received from the scam. Chukwu was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $15,000 to four Americans who were victims of what the judge called a "sophisticated" fraud.

As part of the scheme, letters were sent to victims informing them they had won a prize of $150,000 — in the envelope was a forged check for that amount. However, the victims were told that they could not cash the check unless they paid a fee of $3,000.