Brooklyn man admits fraud charge

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A Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Corey Buddle, 25, is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Buddle, along with co-conspirators from Jamaica, defrauded elderly people in the United States by telling them they won cash prizes of more than $1 million and, in at least one case, a Mercedes Benz automobile, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The victims were told they must pay taxes and other expenses in order to collect their prizes.

One victim, an elderly man from the Rochester area, was told numerous times in phone calls to send packages of cash to Buddle’s address in Brooklyn. Between May 20 and July 18, 2011, the man sent a total of $130,000 in 16 packages to Buddle, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Another victim, an elderly woman in Missouri, was told to deposit money into Buddle’s bank accounts. She made 26 deposits adding up to about $140,000 from July 11, 2012, through April 4, 2013.  After April 4, 2013, she was told to send cash to his home and she sent more than $50,000.

A third elderly victim in Florida lost $37,000 by wiring money to Buddle’s bank accounts between August 2, 2012, and April 4, 2013.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara schedule sentencing for March 17, 2017.