Jamaican National Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Defraud Elderly Illinois Couple

A Jamaican man pled guilty today, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, to participating in a mail fraud scheme that defrauded an elderly Illinois couple. Ricardo Fredrick Smith a/k/a “Rickey Ricardo Smith” a/k/a “Ricky” a/k/a “Stinger”, 39, from St. James Parish, Jamaica, was convicted of one count of Mail Fraud. At the plea hearing, defendant admitted he participated in the scheme beginning no later than September 2015, and continuing through at least December 2015. Defendant admitted he recruited his ex-girlfriend, T.W., to participate in the scheme.

The prosecution is part of the Elder Justice Initiative of the Department of Justice. In June 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa was selected as one of 10 districts in the nation to form an Elder Justice Task Force (http://go.usa.gov/cSngj). The task force was assembled to foster a collaborative working relationship among all levels of government officials, advocacy groups for the elderly and the disabled, and others charged with the care and protection for these vulnerable groups. The goals include ensuring the integrity of all government expenditures by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in health programs, and protecting some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens from harm, whether it occurs in nursing homes or other institutions or involves financial fraud schemes. To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, visit: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Smith remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Smith faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or not more than twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss from the offenses, whichever is greater, $100 in special assessments, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 16-CR-92-LRR.

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