Jamaican man pleads guilty to sweepstakes fraud targeting woman

Associate in South Dakota wired money to fraudster in Jamaica

A Jamaican man extradited to the United States last year has pleaded guilty in federal court in South Dakota to wire fraud charges in connection with a scheme that defrauded a California woman out of more than $181,000.

Dwayne Anderson, 35, of Hannover, Jamaica, entered the plea Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. Anderson was arrested July 11, 2024, by Jamaican authorities on a U.S. indictment and extradited to the United States in August, where he has remained in custody pending trial.

According to court documents, Anderson admitted that from 2010 through September 2017, he participated in a sweepstakes scam that targeted the victim.

South Dakota was chosen as the prosecuting venue because some of the money Anderson defrauded from the victim was wired through South Dakota, U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell said in an email.