Jamaican Man Sentenced To 63 Months For His Role In Conspiracy To Defraud Elderly Woman

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On September 4, 2024, Morice Armani Brown, 24 years old, a Jamaican national, currently of Florida, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 63 months by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Following his imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for a period of one year. The defendant was also ordered to repay nearly $700,000 in restitution to the victim in this case.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Brown pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1341. Brown's co-conspirators, Marklyn Antonio Forrester, Jamali Jermaine Ramsay, and Jahmarley Kiboki McFarlane, were sentenced to 63 months, 36 months, and 57 months in prison, respectively. A fifth individual, Tessa Nicole Hines, is scheduled to be sentenced in October 2024, for her role in laundering money related to this scheme.

According to court documents, Brown conspired to defraud a 76-year-old Lenoir City resident out of nearly $700,000 by tricking her into believing she had won millions of dollars in a sweepstakes' competition through the mail. Brown and the co-conspirators convinced the victim to pay various fees and taxes to claim the winnings and traveled to Lenoir City to collect funds from the victim. The conspirators then split the proceeds between themselves and others.

United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement.

The charges were the result of an investigation by the Lenoir City Police Department and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne-Marie Svolto and Michael Deel of the Eastern District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.

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