Canadian extradited from Ja charged in US over fraud scheme

NEW YORK, CMC – A 52-year-old Canadian man who was extradited from Jamaica to the United States has been charged for being involved in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.

Martin Hogan, who appeared in court earlier this week before US Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pederson, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and international money laundering conspiracy.

Hogan was remanded in custody until March 1.

In a statement, the US Department of Justice said between September 2015 and March 2020, Hogan conspired with multiple co-defendants to defraud elderly victims using a fraudulent telemarketing scheme.

According to the indictment, Hogan would place telephone calls from Canada to victims in the United States and tell them that they had won the Canadian lottery.

The victims, all over the age of 55, were then told that before collecting their winnings, they had to “pay the taxes, brokerage fee and/or custom fees due in connection with the winnings.”

After receiving funds from victims, Hogan’s co-defendants would keep a small portion of the funds and then pay others to smuggle the remaining funds from the United States to him in Canada. 

In total, Hogan and his co-defendants caused approximately 37 victims to mail approximately 200 packages and wire transfer funds totalling approximately US$2 million.

Following an investigation, Hogan was arrested and extradited from Jamaica in January.

The US Department of Justice did not state the circumstances that led to Hogan’s arrest in Jamaica or his purpose in being on the island.

If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine.

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