Scammer posed as lottery employee, pushed elderly victim in Vancouver to sell home

TACOMA, Wash. — A Jamaican man pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud for his lottery scheme that cost an elderly victim more than $550,000, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.

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Roshard Andrew Carty, 34, was arrested in Jamaica on August 21, 2025, after being indicted in November 2024.

He arrived in the Western District of Washington for arraignment on October 23, 2025.

According to records filed in the case, Carty first contacted the 73-year-old woman in 2020.

He posed as an employee of Publisher’s Clearinghouse and claimed the victim won $22 million and a car in the lottery, but that she needed to pay taxes and fees to access her winnings.

He convinced the woman, a resident of Vancouver, Washington, that the FBI was recording the call and told her she was not to tell anyone about the big win.

Between August 2020 and February 2024, he convinced the victim to send more than $550,000 to various money couriers throughout the United States, who ultimately sent the money to Carty in Jamaica.

Carty’s requests for cash started small and grew over time, according to the investigation.

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He had the victim remove small amounts of cash from her accounts and send them to a U.S. location via FedEx.

Carty convinced the victim to sell her home to cover additional “costs and fees” to claim her prize, telling the victim the money was lost or stolen and demanding more.

In all, Carty stole more than $550,000 from the victim by having her mail the money to various couriers in the U.S.

Carty was relentless in contacting the victim using various phone numbers and texting programs, according to investigators.

He contacted her thousands of times throughout the fraud.

When she tried to cut off contact, he tried sending tow trucks, and pizza deliveries, and asked her landlord for a welfare check to try to get back in touch with the victim.

Carty will be sentenced by the U.S. District Court on May 14, 2026.