On June 27, 2019, Sheldon Hibbert was arrested in Orlando, Florida. Hibbert had previously been charged by criminal complaint in the District of Arizona with a money laundering conspiracy of proceeds of a mail and wire fraud scheme on June 20, 2019.

According to the criminal complaint, financial exploitation is a fast-growing form of abuse of elderly and other vulnerable individuals. Hibbert was allegedly involved in a scheme to obtain money from victims who were informed that they had won substantial cash prizes in a sweepstakes lottery. The victims were told that before they could claim their prizes they had to pay taxes and fees. Two victims interviewed reported estimated losses totaling more than $1,070,000 in connection with this scheme in 2015 and 2017. One of the victims reported making payments directly to Hibbert via cashier’s check and wire transfers. Between February 2015 and October 2015, Hibbert made 18 money transfers totaling $34,158 to individuals in Jamaica, indicating that Hibbert was acting as a money runner in this scheme.

The court ordered that Hibbert be transported to the District of Arizona, where he is to remain in custody pending trial.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Ariz. Crim. Compl. filed June 20, 2019; M.D. Fla. Executed Arrest Warrant filed June 27, 2019; M.D. Fla. Commitment to Another District filed July 1, 2019; and D. Ariz. Order of Detention filed July 1, 2019.