Fraud case may have taken money from 250 senior citizens
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Posted 3:53PM on Tuesday, October 15, 2002
SALINAS, CALIFORNIA - Authorities say at least 250 senior citizens in northern California's Monterey County may be owed money from a fraud case involving a phony million dollar contest. <br>
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The case involves fake sweepstakes that seniors may have been conned into entering with the lure of a big cash prize. <br>
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Monterey County Assistant District Attorney Denine Guy said Monday that letters notified people they could claim the money -- but only after sending a processing fee ranging from $15-$35. <br>
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He says the prize money never appeared -- and a Georgia couple who ran the contest pocketed the money. <br>
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Komichael and Naterica Johnson of Atlanta pleaded guilty in Salinas last month to charges of grand theft of personal property. <br>
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Komichael Johnson's charge was a felony. He was sentenced to one year in Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. His wife will serve 180 days in jail on a misdemeanor.