Jamaican lottery scam costs 2 Foley victims over $1 million

November 04, 2009, 7:31AM

Stanley Walker, 71, is charged with participating in a scheme that swindled two Foley residents of over $1 million.BAY

MINETTE, Ala. -- A man arrested in Florida and jailed in Bay Minette is linked to a Jamaican lottery scam that swindled two Foley victims out of more than $1 million in cash and credit card charges, according to police.  Stanley Samuel Walker, 71, of Kingston, Jamaica, was being held in the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Tuesday with bail set at $350,000, Foley police Cpl. Tony Nelson said.

Walker is a suspect in a scheme in which victims were told they had won large jackpots, but had to first send money to cover taxes and fees.
Walker was arrested in Fort Pierce, Fla., on July 22, and extradited to Baldwin County on Oct. 25, according to a Foley police statement. He is charged with first-degree theft of property and second-degree theft of property.

"We know of two victims here, but there are probably others who haven't come forward yet," Nelson said. "It's not just centralized in Baldwin County, it's all over the United States."

Nelson said that a large network ran the scam, and that Walker was one of the members.
One of the Foley victims told the Press-Register that a man who called himself David Global contacted his wife several months ago and said that she had won $48 million in a sweepstakes.
He said that his wife sent the scammers about $200,000 from their personal bank accounts and ran up credit card bills of $500,000 to deliver them more.
"She cleaned out everything I had and now I've got the credit card companies all over me," said the man, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity. "At this point in my life, I can't make another $500,000. All I've got left is bankruptcy."

The Foley investigation began in June when a woman contacted police after learning that her father had sent $400,000 to try to claim lottery winnings, Nelson said.
"She was concerned about her father's bank account and he told her that he was about to come into a lot of money," Nelson said. "We were sitting in my office when the Jamaicans called him. I took the call, told them I was his brother and that we were tired of sending money orders and wanted to meet in person."

After the caller arranged a meeting, a deputy from the St. Lucie County, Fla., Sheriff's Office pretending to be the brother met with a man identified as Walker.

Walker said that if the brother gave him $10,000, the purported winner could pick up his lottery check in Mobile, Nelson said.