Massachusetts
Father, son sentenced for $20M lottery fraud scheme
BOSTON (AP) — A father and son from Massachusetts have both been sent to prison for running an elaborate lottery fraud scheme designed to enrich themselves and help prize winners avoid paying taxes on their windfall, prosecutors said.
Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, both of Watertown, cashed in 14,000 winning lottery tickets over a roughly 10-year period, laundered more than $20 million in proceeds, and then lied on their tax returns to cheat the IRS out of about $6 million, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston announced Monday.
The Jaafars purchased winning lottery tickets at a discount from people who wanted to avoid identification by the state lottery commission, which withholds taxes and outstanding child support payments from payouts.
After purchasing the tickets, using the stores that sold them as go-betweens, the Jaafars claimed the full prize amount. Although they reported the winnings on their tax returns, they also claimed equivalent fake gambling losses as an offset to avoid federal income taxes, prosecutors said.
Ali Jaafar was sentenced to five years in prison. Yousef Jaafar received a sentence of more than four years. They were also ordered to pay $6 million in restitution and forfeit the profits from their scheme.
They were convicted in December of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and filing a false tax return.
Mohamed Jaafar, another of Ali Jaafar’s sons, pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in November and awaits sentencing.
The defendants paid the owners of dozens of stores that sell lottery tickets to facilitate the transactions, and the state lottery commission is in the process of revoking or suspending the licenses of more than 40 lottery agents, authorities said.
Florida
Millionaire’s elaborate jail escape plan foiled, sheriff says
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities in Florida say they foiled an elaborate jail escape plan by a 78-year-old businessman who had previously fled to France following his 2014 arrest on child pornography charges before being arrested in another country and returned to the U.S.
A tip from outside the jail sparked a two-month investigation into the actions of John Manchec, some of his employees and others who he befriended in jail, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said Monday during a news conference. Manchec is a citizen of both the United States and France.
“Essentially, the plan comes down to this,” the sheriff said. “These folks that are on the outside are going to wait until Manchec has a doctor’s visit, and they are going to take out our corrections staff while he’s out at the medical facility.”
The plan also called for Manchec’s employees to have a plane — which the sheriff said the man owns — ready in nearby Fort Pierce, so he could escape.
Manchec, who the sheriff described as a multimillionaire, was originally arrested in 2014 on 49 child pornography charges. He left the country to avoid prosecution after posting a nearly $500,000 bond. He returned to southern France where he owned a Medieval estate, the Chateau Pechrigal, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said attempts to have Manchec extradited from France were denied, but he was eventually arrested in the Dominican Republic in 2020, and returned to Florida.
Manchec sought to get out of jail in January, saying he suffered from several chronic medical conditions, and because he broke his hip and wrist late last year, the sheriff said. The request was denied.
The escape plot centered on an April 12 medical appointment, Flowers said. But people involved in the plan had loose lips and investigators received a tip that they began looking into.
An examination of Manchec’s jail phone records discovered he used the code words “paint job” while talking with his employees about the plot.
The plan included preparing his plane, a 140-foot (42-meter) yacht, a black utility van and other vehicles that were purchased just for the escape attempt, Flowers said. Manchec even paid the bail for a cellmate who lived in his home and helped make the arrangement, including preparing a suitcase and purchasing his prepared liquor, the sheriff said.
“He’s going back to his castle in France … he’s going to escape in his plane and get back to France and he’s never going to have to face these charges,” the sheriff said.
“This was the real deal,” Flowers said, adding that the plan was discovered before it could be set into motion.
Manchec remains in the Indian River County Jail on attempted escape charges, and four others were arrested and charged in the plot. A lawyer who could speak on behalf of Manchek was not listed on jail records.
Manchec was originally arrested in December, 2014, following a child pornography investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Florida
Drag show restaurant files federal lawsuit against DeSantis
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A popular Orlando restaurant that regularly features drag shows filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, less than a week after he signed a bill that targets drag performances.
The lawsuit filed in Orlando federal court by the owner of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando claims the state is depriving the business of its First Amendment rights to free expression. The restaurant is asking the court to temporarily stop the law from taking effect while the case moves forward.
DeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek the Republican presidential nomination. He signed the bill restricting drag performances — along with bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms — last Wednesday in front of a cheering crowd at the evangelical Cambridge Christian School in Tampa.
Hamburger Mary’s Bar & Grille has more than a dozen locations around the U.S., with the Orlando restaurant opening in 2008. According to the lawsuit, the restaurant had hosted “family friendly” drag shows on Sundays, but the new Florida law is forcing them to ban children from all shows. This has led to a 20% drop in Sunday bookings.
Proponents of the legislation have said the law is meant to keep children from viewing sexually explicit performances. Lawyers for the business argue the new law is so broad and vague that it could be applied to almost any performance that involves a man dressing up like a woman, even if the performance isn’t sexual in nature. The lawsuit said the business owners can’t risk having their business or liquor licenses suspended or risk facing criminal prosecution by allowing children at the shows.
