Watertown father and son, who cashed in additional than $20 million in successful tickets, discovered responsible of lottery rip-off

Crime

The couple claimed different folks’s lottery winnings as their very own as a part of a scheme to keep away from paying taxes.

A federal jury discovered a Watertown father and son responsible Friday for his or her half in a lottery rip-off, wherein the couple claimed greater than $20 million in Massachusetts lottery winnings over 9 years on behalf of lottery holders. actual successful tickets to keep away from paying taxes and to gather tax refunds, prosecutors mentioned.

Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, have been convicted of 1 rely of conspiring to defraud the Inner Income Service, one rely of conspiring to commit cash laundering and one rely every of submitting a false tax return. , in keeping with the Massachusetts Division of State. legal professional’s workplace

Mohamed Jaafar, one other son of Ali Jaafar, beforehand pleaded responsible to conspiracy to defraud the IRS final month in reference to the identical scheme.

“By defrauding the Massachusetts Lottery and the Inner Income Service, the Jaafars cheated the system and took tens of millions of their hard-earned taxpayer {dollars},” US Legal professional Rachael S. Rollins mentioned in an announcement. assertion. “This responsible verdict exhibits that elaborate cash laundering schemes and tax frauds will probably be rooted out and prosecuted.”

In response to prosecutors, the Jaafars conspired with others to purchase discounted successful lottery tickets for money from gamers throughout the state. Comfort retailer house owners typically facilitated the transactions.

The scheme is named “10 %” as a result of ticket patrons sometimes maintain 10 to twenty % of the worth of every ticket, authorities mentioned.

In observe, the rip-off permits actual gamers to keep away from reporting their winnings on tax returns, whereas conspirators just like the Jaafars current successful tickets to the Massachusetts Lottery Fee as their very own and acquire full worth, prosecutors mentioned. .

“Defendants additionally reported ticket winnings as their very own on their tax returns and claimed false playing losses to offset the claimed winnings, thereby avoiding federal earnings taxes and receiving tax refunds,” prosecutors mentioned.

Between 2011 and 2020, the Jaafars and their accomplices cashed greater than 14,000 lottery tickets and claimed greater than $20 million in winnings, authorities mentioned.

“Primarily based on his filed lottery claims, in 2019, Ali Jaafar was Massachusetts’ prime particular person lottery ticket changer,” prosecutors mentioned. “Mohamed Jaafar was the third highest particular person ticket redeemer and Yousef Jaafar was the fourth highest particular person ticket redeemer. In all, the three members of the family acquired greater than $1,200,000 in tax refunds by claiming different folks’s lottery tickets as their very own after which offsetting these winnings with false playing losses on their tax returns.”

Each Ali Jaafar and Yousef Jaafar are anticipated to be sentenced to jail in April.