Crime
The pair claimed other people’s lottery winnings as their own as part of a scheme to avoid paying taxes.
A federal jury on Friday found a father and son from Watertown guilty for their part in a lottery scam, in which the pair claimed more than $20 million in Massachusetts lottery winnings over nine years on behalf of the actual winning ticket holders to avoid paying taxes and to collect tax refunds, prosecutors said.
Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count each of filing a false tax return, according to the Massachusetts U.S. attorney’s office.
Mohamed Jaafar, another son of Ali Jaafar, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the IRS last month in connection to the same scheme.
“By defrauding the Massachusetts Lottery and the Internal Revenue Service, the Jaafars cheated the system and took millions of hard-earned taxpayers’ dollars,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in a statement. “This guilty verdict shows that elaborate money laundering schemes and tax frauds will be rooted out and prosecuted.”
According to prosecutors, the Jaafars conspired with other individuals to buy winning lottery tickets at a cash discount from gamblers around the state….
