Jamaican national sentenced to nearly 4 years for bilking couple out of life savings

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Jamaican national who swindled an elderly couple out of $130,000 - nearly all of their life savings - was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison Tuesday.

Ricardo F. Smith, 39, who has lived in Cedar Rapids since 2015, pleaded guilty in January to one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court. Smith, along with two others, participated in a lottery scheme to defraud an elderly couple in Bushnell, Ill.

Smith, during his plea hearing, said his girlfriend, Tea Ware, 36, also convicted in the scheme, told the 74-year-old wife of the couple that she won a lottery or sweepstakes and was going to receive large sums of money, but could only collect her winnings if she first mailed Ware the taxes or fees for payment.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade, calling this an 'outrageous victimization of elderly and sick people,” sentenced Smith to the maximum penalty range. 'This was an outrageous situation,” she said.

According to court records, the female victim has memory problems and her husband is a U.S. Navy veteran suffering from dementia who lives in a long-term care facility.

Reade said she would not vary from the guidelines to give Smith less time. She gave Smith an additional penalty enhancement for his role as a leader or supervisor in the offense, as recommended by the prosecution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Vavricek pointed to Smith's recruitment of Ware in the scheme and evidence that he instructed her how to deposit the money from the victims to avoid bank reporting requirements. Smith also told Ware how to communicate with him and the other conspirator - who went by the name 'Chubby” and remained in Jamaica - through an encrypted instant messaging service to avoid detection by authorities, Vavricek said.

The indictment showed that during phone conversations with the victim, Chubby would direct her to mail cash and checks, drawn from the couple's joint account, to a post office box in Cedar Rapids. Smith and Ware opened the post office boxes for the scheme.

Vavricek, in pointing out Smith's leadership role, said he opened a 'shadow checking account” at Hills Bank and Trust for the scheme, and he also had a personal checking account at the bank.

Mike Lahammer, Smith's lawyer, asked the court for less prison time, arguing Smith wasn't a leader in the scheme. He argued that Smith took direction from Chubby. Lahammer added that Smith will likely be deported following his prison term and have to return to 'poverty” in Jamaica.

Reade said if Smith has to return to poverty 'so be it,” as he had a chance to better his life and that of his family but chose to be involved in this scheme. She added that she was 'tempted” to vary upward and give him even more time but decided to stay at 41 months.

Reade previously sentenced Ware to 33 months in prison after she pleaded guilty in June to two counts of mail fraud and one count of using a fictitious name in mail fraud.

The indictment shows the scheme started in September and continued through November 2015. During Tuesday's hearing, lawyers indicated the victims lost an estimated $130,000 through the scheme.

The couple's son submitted a victim's impact statement to the court but didn't attend the hearing.

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