Woman from Las Vegas is sentenced to three years in federal penitentiary for her part in fraudulent sweepstakes scheme.
Andrea Burrow, a 50-year-old woman from Las Vegas, was sentenced to a three-year federal prison term on January 13, 2021, for her involvement in a $9 million criminal scheme that targeted mostly elderly and vulnerable victims.
The court hearing took place in a Nevada federal district court, presided over by US District Judge Gloria Navarro. Burrow entered a guilty plea on a conspiracy to commit mail fraud charge in August 2020.
Prosecutors sought a nearly five-year prison term due to Burrow's criminal behavior starting before 2010. Federal authorities seized more than $237,000 from a Bank of America safety deposit box and Burrow's Las Vegas residence in February 2018.
Burrow was the first of nine people charged in the scheme to be sentenced. Five others (Mario Castro, Jose Salud Castro, Salvador Castro, Miguel Castro, and Jose Luis Mendez) are scheduled for trial in June. Three others entered guilty pleas to a conspiracy charge in 2019.
The scheme involved fraudulent mailers claiming the recipients had won prizes. The FBI urges individuals who receive suspicious mailings claiming they've won large sums to check them out on the Internet. The US Postal Inspection Service's Criminal Investigations Group has paid extra attention to cases like the one involving Andrea Burrow that target seniors through the postal service.
Seniors are often targeted because they: - Own homes or have substantial savings - Live alone or experience social isolation - Tend to be trusting and polite - Are less familiar with digital threats
Common tactics of sweepstakes scams include claims of winning a prize and urgency and pressure. To protect yourself, be aware and educated, verify information, report suspicious activity, and take practical steps such as not sending money for prizes and not using gift cards to pay for prizes.
The FBI's Elder Fraud page emphasizes the importance of reporting these scams to authorities to help bring justice to victims. Information can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. Entering a company's name, address, and contact information in a Google search can reveal complaints from other victims. People who mailed payments were then targeted for additional prize scams.
In addition to prison time, Burrow was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $272,000. Burrow opened the mail, sorted the payments, and kept track of those who submitted payments in a database.
The FBI advises against becoming a victim of a sweepstakes scam. The sweepstakes prize scam defrauds seniors out of more than $3 billion annually. By being proactive, informed, and cautious, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to sweepstakes scams.
- The scheme that Andrea Burrow was involved in, involving fraudulent mailers claiming prize wins to mostly elderly and vulnerable victims, highlights a worrying trend in casino-and-gambling-related crime-and-justice in Las Vegas.
- The sentencing of Andrea Burrow, a casino personality from Las Vegas, to a prison term for her involvement in a mail fraud scheme reinforces the importance of policy-and-legislation in casino-culture to protect the general-news consuming public, especially seniors.
- In the Nevada federal district court, US District Judge Gloria Navarro presided over a hearing that saw Andrea Burrow, a 50-year-old woman, sentenced for her criminal activities in the 'casino-and-gambling' scene of Las Vegas.
- The trial of five other individuals charged in the $9 million mail fraud scheme, scheduled for June, promises to shed light on the intricacies of 'politics' and the manipulation of casino-personalities for criminal purposes in the city of Las Vegas.
