Contacted by telephone in June and told I had won a Sweepstakes sponsored by VISA, MasterCard and Publishers Clearing house in the amount of $360,000.informed that the Association would take care of paying all taxes on the prize. Next contacted and informed $17,000 had been deposited to my VISA account. They had my VISA card number. Said they had access to this number because VISA was a sponsor of the Sweepstakes. Checked my VISA account and found that they had deposited the money. They then asked for my checking/savings account at my bank. Foolishly gave them this info. The next day $17,000 was transferred into my Chase Bank account.instructions by phone then told me to withdraw and send this money to their "broker", Mr. Robert Jackson, in Mt. Vernon, NY who would be taking care of paying taxes. Further calls and additional deposits made to my VISA in amounts total of $58,300.in July, I was told that the original $17,000 had been lost in transit by UPS delivery service, and therefore, more money would have to be sent for tax payments.instructions to wire transfer $17,500 to Caixa Penedes in Barcelona, Spain, and the following day, $18,000 to the same bank in Spain. Because this money was provided by the Sweepstakes Association, I felt comfortable following these instructions, and did as instructed. However, I did not authorize any of the deposits made to my VISA Account. Nor did I ever authorize any check transfers to my bank. On July 25, I was called again by Marshall of the Sweepstakes and told that the prize was now $1,440, 000 because the 2nd place winner could not be located, and that I would receive the prize in a week to 10 days. On July 28, I called to determine my balance due on my VISA card, and discovered that the last three deposits had become invalid because the payments were returned to VISA for non-sufficient funds. All attempts to contact Marshall were unsuccessful. I left many messages on his telephone number which was 206-424-4134. Of course, I knew at this point, that I had been scammed. I contacted the FBI, and was told to file a complaint with IC3, which I did immediately. I also contacted Bank of America, VISA, and reported the scam, and asked for their assistance. I spoke with people in their Security and Fraud Departments. I was told that I was totally responsible for the balance of $50,000 on my account.
I have a FAX number that I sent copies of the wire transfers for the Bank in Barcelona, Spain, and I have full address information for Mr. Robert Jackson and the Caixa Bank, but no address for the Sweepstakes Association other than Seattle, WA. Has anyone else been scammed by this criminal organization? I need help in getting more information about this scam. Also, does the Consumer Protection Act apply to my problem?
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