Nash County man allegedly scammed $143,000 from senior citizens with lottery scheme

Alpheus Brewer of Nashville allegedly stole $143,000 from senior citizens by falsely claiming they had won a sweepstakes or lottery.

He then is alleged to have told the victims to send him money in order to receive their falsely promised winnings -- claiming it was for taxes and/or fees associated with the sweepstakes or lottery.

"Mr. Brewer is alleged to have taken advantage of some of the most vulnerable members of our community through his participation in a scheme that robbed them of their savings," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.

On at least two separate occasions, the United States Postal Inspection Service allegedly warned Brewer that he appeared to be involved in a fraudulent scheme and informed him that he should not participate further. Brewer continued to participate.

The United States claimed that Brewer conducted this scheme from mid-2021 to at least early 2023. Brewer allegedly assisted and facilitated this predatory mail-fraud, wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme.

Brewer allegedly received the victims’ funds through the United States Postal Service or commercial mail carriers, deposited money into various bank accounts in the United States, then permitted individuals in Jamaica to withdraw the funds.

When approached by law enforcement, Brewer admitted his participation in the scheme, claiming that he, too, was a victim of a lottery fraud scheme and was trying to recover his own losses.

All told, the United States alleged that victims of this scheme lost approximately $143,000.

The United States filed a complaint against Brewer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1345, which allows the government to prohibit certain fraudulent behavior. Brewer cooperated with the government’s investigation and consented to the injunction.

The court has determined that Brewer is liable in this civil action and entered the injunction against him on June 1.

This was a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the United States Postal Inspection Service.