A key figure in an international lottery fraud scheme was sentenced to over 12 years in prison. Matthew Getto was sentenced in Manhattan federal court for his participation in a lottery telemarketing scheme based in Israel in which he and others stole over $8 million from elderly victims in the United States between 2007 and July 2009.
In October 2010, Getto was convicted after a non-jury bench trial.
Eleven other individuals who were part of the same fraudulent scheme, all of whom are residents of Israel, have been charged in a separate Indictment, and have either pled guilty, are awaiting trial, or awaiting extradition to the U.S.
"Matthew Getto is a con artist who used every trick in the book to swindle elderly victims in the United States out of their hard-earned savings”, said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that anyone who preys on the citizens of the United States, whether at home or abroad, will not get away with it."
