Jamaican Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Fraud

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

Buffalo, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Corey Buddle, 25, of Brooklyn, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that the defendant, along with co-conspirators from Jamaica, defrauded elderly individuals residing in the United States by leading the victims to believe they won cash prizes of more than $1,000,000 and, in at least one case, a Mercedes Benz automobile. The victims were told they must pay “taxes” and other administrative expenses in order to collect their “prizes.”
 
One victim, an elderly man from the Rochester, NY area, was told numerous times in phone calls to send packages of cash to the defendant’s address in Brooklyn, NY. As a result, between May 20 and July 18, 2011, he sent a total of $130,000 in 16 packages via UPS and the U.S. Mail to Buddle. 

Another victim, an elderly resident of Missouri, was directed to deposit money into Buddle’s accounts at Bank of America. As a result, she made 26 deposits adding up to approximately $140,000 into Buddle’s accounts from July 11, 2012, through April 4, 2013.  After April 4, 2013, the victim from Missouri was directed to send cash to the defendant’s residence, which she did by sending more than $50,000 in 10 different packages sent via UPS and Federal Express. Some of the money deposited into Buddle’s Bank of America accounts was withdrawn in Jamaica. 

A third elderly victim, who lives in Florida, lost $37,000 by wiring the money into Buddle’s bank accounts in nine separate transfers between August 2, 2012, and April 4, 2013. This victim received a letter in April 2012 purporting to be from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, telling him he was $25,000 in arrears on his taxes. None of the victims received anything as a result of their “winnings.”

The guilty plea is the result of an investigation on the part of the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski of the Boston Division, and Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James C. Spero.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 17, 2017, at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Arcara.