BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman will spend 21 months in prison for cheating a dozen elderly people out of more than $300,000 in a lottery scam.
Federal prosecutors say 26-year-old Ashley Barrett, of Hyannis, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to mail fraud.
Authorities say Barrett and several others scammed elderly people between 2012 and 2016 by telling the victims they won cash and vehicles from the lottery and needed to pay taxes and fees to receive their winnings.
Authorities say the victims included a 93-year-old widow from Florida who suffered from dementia and a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran and cancer survivor from Iowa.
One 87-year-old victim sent Barrett $149,000 in wire transfers and checks.
Barrett has been ordered to repay $325,148.
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