Father, Son Sentenced for Decadelong, $20 Million Lottery Fraud Scheme

Father, Son Sentenced for Decadelong, $20 Million Lottery Fraud Scheme
A customer is handed Powerball tickets purchased at Lichine's Liquor & Deli in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 7, 2022. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
The Associated Press
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BOSTON—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.