You thought you won the lottery — instead, this NJ guy took your money

A Burlington County man is headed to prison for scamming people out of over $4 million.

Pablo Estrada of Florence, NJ, Sentenced

On Tuesday, 27-year-old Pablo Estrada of Florence, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, was sentenced to 33 months, or just under three years, in prison.

Multi-million Dollar Lottery Scam Hits NJ

Federal authorities say from the summer of 2020 through this past January, Estrada received money from victims of various scams, including a lottery scam, which is an advance fee fraud that begins with victims receiving an unexpected notification that they have won large sums of money in a lottery, but they have to pay fees and expenses before their winnings can be released to them.

In total, Estrada laundered more than $4 million.

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Time to Pay it All Back

In addition to the prison term, Estrada will be under three years of supervised release once out of prison and he was ordered to pay restitution of $4.21 million.

U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger thanked officials with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the IRS, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office, and the Florence Township Police Department for their work in this case.