A lottery mail scam was thwarted this week in Murrysville when a Maryland man tried to pick up $100,000 from a resident and then struck the man with his vehicle as he tried to flee, according to court papers.
Clint OBrian Robinson, 47, told investigators he had driven 3-1/2 hours to Westmoreland County to pick up the cash.
Mail scams don’t typically rise to the level of a face-to-face interaction, said Police Chief Tom Seefeld.
“Not in person, this is very unusual,” he said.
State and federal authorities are investigating an alleged operation involving Jamaican nationals and a lottery scheme, according to court papers. Murrysville police weren’t previously involved, but Tuesday’s arrest brought them into the fold. An agent from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office who is working on the bigger investigation was called in to assist local police.
“This is something they’ve been involved with … and we just kind of entered in this…,” Seefeld said.
Police were called to a Hills Church Road home at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after the victim reported being hit by a Buick. The victim told investigators he had been talking by phone to men “who appear to have Jamaican accents” for the last six weeks after his elderly mother filled out a postcard for what she believed was a Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes, according to court papers.
The callers claimed the victim won $5 million, but that they needed $100,000 to release the money. The victim offered for the callers to visit his home to pick up the cash, police said.
When the victim was notified by phone that the courier had arrived, he stood in front of the Buick and called 911, police said. Robinson allegedly hit the man while fleeing. The victim, however, got the license plate of the vehicle. Police caught up with Robinson about four miles away, according to court papers.
Seefeld said the victim had minor injuries.
Scams such as these prey on the elderly. Seefeld cautioned the public to be wary when giving out personal information. In the wrong hands, that information can be used for illicit things, such as identity theft.
“Be very, very sure who you’re talking to,” he said. “Unless you know who you are dealing with, don’t (give anything out).”
Robinson told investigators he was from Jamaica and had been in the United States for 15 years. He also told investigators that that he had a flight booked for Thursday to Jamaica, according to court papers.
He is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle and attempted aggravated assault by vehicle. Robinson was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $500,000 bail.
He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. An April 23 preliminary hearing is set.
