HARRISBURG, Pa. — A 44-year-old Dauphin County man will serve up to 21 months prison on charges of mail fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Imhram Clarke, of Steelton, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud earlier this year, according to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus.
Clarke admitted to being part of a Jamaica-based fraud scheme, Gurganus said. Between July 2010 and December 2018, Clarke acted as a "money mule" in a scheme that cost seven victims approximately $193,723.
One of the victims was a 93-year-old World War II veteran, Gurganus said.
Clarke retained a portion of the fraud proceeds sent to him and then transferred the remaining proceeds to other fraudsters in Jamaica via Western Union or MoneyGram money transfers, Gurganus said.
From November 2018 until December 2018, the 93-year-old victim was defrauded of about $35,000 or more through a scheme in which victims sent fraudsters money as an “advance” payment in order to redeem a promised sweepstakes prize, Gurganus said.
This victim mailed money to Clarke’s residence in Steelton, Pennsylvania on multiple occasions, including one mailing of $5,000 in cash that was intercepted by members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Clarke was also ordered to pay $41,838.50 in restitution and to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.
