CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A federal judge handed down sentences in three federal cases Friday.
The cases included convictions against a Jamaican man convicted of conducting a lottery scam, a Michigan man convicted of heroin distribution, and a North Carolina man facing a firearm charge.
Zicko Peterkin, 34, of Montego Bay, Jamaica, will face 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to once charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Peterkin admitted to making unsolicited phone calls and e-mails to hundreds of U.S. residents for making false claims that the recipient had won a multi-million dollar lottery prize and a Mercedes Benz vehicle.
The scam included telling victims that they had to send money to cover “processing fees.” Peterkin would also send images of forged cashier’s checks to the recipients, showing the intended target as the payee of the check. Investigators believe victims wired at least $250,000 to to Peterkin over a period of nearly three years, September 2008 to July 2011. The crimes occurred throughout the United States, including the northern district of West Virginia.
Peterkin is also ordered to pay $257,978 in restitution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Meanwhile, a Michigan man will serve up to seven years in prison for distribution of heroin. Danzavious “Dash” Dolphus, 24, of Harper Woods, Michigan, admitted in March to selling heroin in Monongalia County in June 2017.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.
A North Carolina man will also face up to seven years in prison following a firearms conviction. Jared Tyrone Cooke, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence. That crime occurred in January 2017 in Morgantown, where Cooke apparently brandished a 12-gauge shotgun during a robbery.
He pleaded guilty in April. Wesley also prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided for all three cases.