Rhode Island woman accused of multi-state fraud totaling $10 million | ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Warwick woman has been charged in a direct-mail sweepstakes scheme that defrauded seniors and other vulnerable individuals in Rhode Island and multiple states out of a total of $10 million.

Megan E. Shine, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury and arraigned on conspiracy and fraud charges, according to United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Shine allegedly used the U.S. Mail to carry out a fraud scheme using mailings that suggested to recipients that they were entitled to cash prizes or valuable items.

Victims were duped into sending payments, usually between $20 and $30, to businesses Shine created and operated in Rhode Island.

Mailings were personalized with the recipient’s name, along with other markings to bolster apparent authenticity, and instructed the recipient to send money by a deadline to a PO Box in Providence.

An investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that these mailings were sent to recipients in 41 states.

The conservative estimate of responses and payments received totaled 50,000 per year.