October 25th 2023.
Ali and Yousef Jaafar, a father and son from Massachusetts, have been sentenced to a combined nine years in prison for money laundering the state's lottery system. They have also been ordered to pay $6 million in restitution and forfeit their ill-gotten gains.
The family's money laundering scheme was uncovered in May 2019 when the lottery commission suspended the Jaafars for frequent and suspiciously large winnings. The lottery commission was tipped off to the family's activities and initiated an investigation that eventually led to Ali and Yousef's conviction in December 2022.
The Jaafars employed a technique commonly referred to as "ten percenting". This involved the use of middlemen, or "ten percenters", who would purchase winning tickets for a fee in cash. This allowed the original winner to receive their winnings without declaring the income on their taxes.
The scheme unravelled in the summer of 2020 when Yousef attempted to cash more winning tickets. A confrontation with a lottery official ensued, leading to the official refusing to authorize payment. Mohamed Jaafar eventually decided to cooperate with federal prosecutors, and the Jaafars were convicted the following month.
The state lottery commission has since taken measures to revoke or suspend the licenses of over 40 lottery agents connected to the scheme. It is not yet known if the family will be deported.
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